Based on the concept of “form follows history”, the design dissolves the apparent contradiction of building a new building inside an old one. By merging the existing with an additional structure, a new organic shaped building unit is generated. This preserves the integrity of the houses on the street and the historical references of the building as part of the historic urban structure of Eisleben. Simultaneously it imparts new impulses to the surroundings with its independent architectural language.
A white-slaked hybrid as a new whole.

Apart from the four external walls the existing building was completely demolished. The facade towards the street was restored to its original look with a four-axle structure on both levels.
Since the old building would not have been able to provide all of the needed space for the archives; the existing building was extended with a spatial addition on the garden side. Through this process the boundaries between old and new were merged into one another.
The two external corners of the existing wall towards the yard were extended to the corner points of the former staircase extension. The existing roof was extended to the new outer axis based on the historical roof pitch. A reference to the roofs of the city of Eisleben, with its large, deep pitched roofs. There are no coincidences in the new Luther Archive, but the shape and form rather follow what the building and the surroundings dictate.

Like a solid fortress, the white-slaked structure is situated in the historic urban context of the Seminarstreet. The thick exterior walls, with a width of up to 1,20m are a combination of the existing walls, insulation and the new wall structures. The protruding window recesses made out of concrete build the connection between the former plaster recesses of the historic windows and the internal concrete core of the archive. All of the old plasters were removed. The layer of white plaster slurry that was applied later on, now connects the old and the new into a new cohesive whole.

Inside the building, the visitor is surprised by a spaciousness that may only be guessed from the outside via the large facade openings on the garden side. The Luther Archive is accessed from the Schöpfungsgarten (garden of creation) via a striking entrance in the deep wall reveal. The two-storey high foyer transforms the two-storey staircase extension that was located in this space before into an expressive, atmospheric room, which creates references to the garden and Luther’s baptistery under the steep pitched roof. Next to the foyer on the ground floor are public rooms, all of which are barrier-free. The seminar room is an open-plan space that forms the link between the street and the garden of creation. A large window creates a link to the ensemble of Luther’s Birthplace. The library and storage rooms are located on the upper floors and are accessible from the foyer via a partially open staircase.

Building project: Luther archiv Eisleben | Conversion and extension
Client: Luther Memorials Foundation Saxony-Anhalt
Architectural qualification competition: 2012, 1st prize
Completion: 2015
Photographer: Simon Menges
Architectural films: Ertzui Film