Kastner Pichler Architekten: Erinnerungsort Topf und Söhne Erfurt - best architects 12 gold

Kastner Pichler Architekten

Erinnerungsort Topf und Söhne Erfurt

best architects 12 gold

interior work

Place

Köln

Photos

Konstantin Pichler

Description

The former administrative building was renovated as an essential element of the exhibition “The Engineers of the Final Solution, Topf & Söhne – Builders of the Auschwitz Ovens”. A quotation on the building’s façade, the salutation “… stets gern für Sie beschäftigt ...”, taken from a letter sent to the German “Waffen-SS” on February 2nd, 1943, provides an initial indication of what is being displayed inside. Traces of change are established as exhibits. Non-authentic layers have been removed from both inside and outside the building. Authentic elements are exposed. In this way, the time and history to which the building has been exposed become apparent and legible. A new flooring and recesses in the walls enable visitors to follow their own route through the exhibition. Within the now uncovered, authentic space, the path and exhibition are permanently installed and legible as a new historical layer. The transparently coated exposed walls relate to the historical documents on display. Filtered daylight creates a contemplative atmosphere which enables visitors to focus on what happened on the site and on the exhibition. The premises of the main manufacturer of the Auschwitz ovens offer visitors a view of the Buchenwald site and nearby railway lines in order to reveal the dimensions of the events that occurred there.