The building is located behind the old museum building, the neo-baroque building of Georg Frentzen (1905). While working on the project, this architect foresaw the possibility of expansion: the transformation of a building stretched along the street into a square structure.
Then these ideas were not implemented, but by the beginning of the 21st century, when there was no longer enough space for arranging a full-fledged permanent exhibition of works by Alexei Yavlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Kokoschka, Emil Nolde, Otto Dix and other masters of the last century, not to mention holding temporary exhibitions and the international biennial PaperArt - it was decided to bring Frentzen's plans to life, but in modern forms.
Peter Kulka considered that his extension could well contrast with the plastic, richly decorated old building: the latter would be difficult to overshadow even a very original project. Kulka contrasted the natural stone of the 1905 hull with the light brick of the new wing. This rectangular structure was attached to the historic building at the back, and between them a glazed "buffer" with an exhibition hall was arranged. Part of the basement floor of the Kulka building is sheathed with metal sheets, as is the cantilever ledge of the gallery of the second tier. Due to the unity of proportions and scale of the new and old buildings, they are perceived as an ensemble - despite the 100-year time difference.
The museum is scheduled to open to the public in the summer of 2010.
