Final Presentation: KARLSRUHE.ART.COURT. – Expansion of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
(v.l.n.r.) Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Frédéric Bußmann, Prof. Kai Fischer, Patrick Chladek, Prof. Riklef Rambow, Uta Hassler, Simon Buck
The Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, opened in 1846 as one of Germany’s first public museums, is one of the most important art museums in the state. In order to present its collections in a contemporary manner and better fulfil its educational mission, the museum needs modern premises.
As part of the Master’s design project „KARLSRUHE.ART.COURT. – Expansion of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe“, this functionally and programmatically necessary extension was developed by fifteen students in line with circular construction principles, while preserving the existing building. The ‘Kunsthalle der Gegenwart’ will house collections from the 20th and 21st centuries, special exhibitions, offices for art history and communication, a copperplate engraving cabinet and rooms for paper restoration. The former courthouse, built in 1962, will also be opened to the urban community and will house a restaurant and an art library.
On 26 February 2026, the final presentation of the Master’s design project took place in the studio spaces of the Architecture Building. The students presented their projects to the invited guest critics Frédéric Bußmann and Silvia Stetter-Kalbus (Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe), Uta Hassler (architect and building researcher), Kai Fischer and Dagmar Menzenbach (Vermögen und Bau Baden-Württemberg) and Patrick Chladek (architect), as well as the teaching staff from the Chair of Architectural Communication (Prof. Riklef Rambow and Nerina Kosenina) and the Chair of Sustainable Comstruction (Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and Elena Boerman).
Many thanks to all the students and guest critics for the exciting day and the presentation of forward-looking ideas for the extension of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, representing the transformation of the existing museum into an open, inviting art campus for social exchange and cultural participation in Karlsruhe.
