Brückner & Brückner Architekten
Living memory | New town archive in Oberviechtach
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public buildings
Place
Oberviechtach, Germany
Studio
Photos
Marie Luisa Jünger
Description
The town archive in Oberviechtach is the memory of the
town, a living memory, because the aim is not only to carefully preserve the
archived materials but also to communicate their content to the townspeople. Between
the market square and the market pond, the new town archive together with the
Doctor Eisenbart and City Museum form a new cultural building block. A
prominent gap in the heart of the city has been repaired. Inspiration for the
building came from the wooden barns that are omnipresent on the Oberviechtach townscape.
Like an archive, these timber structures serve as storerooms – in this case for
goods or natural produce. The new barn is a contemporary and highly efficient
archive building with the best technical prerequisites for the future-proof
storage of archival materials, in order to preserve the historical and cultural
memory of the city. The archive is a monolithic sculpture cast from lightweight
concrete in wooden formwork made of boards of different widths, based on local
barn architecture. After removing this mould, the texture of the wood remained
visible in the cast stone. Inside, the walls have a smooth finish, accompanied
by the warm tones of local wood. Large glass openings bring plenty of daylight
into the public spaces. These include a bright multifunctional room on the top
floor that can be used as a reading room, seminar room or event space – always
with a framed view over the town pond.