Ahrenshoop, located on a chain of islands in the Baltic Sea named Fischland-Darß-Zingst is known for its artists’ colony, which was established back in the 1880s. From the era of classical modernism to our present day, numerous artists have lived in this former fishers’ village and, through their work, responded directly or indirectly to the surrounding landscape. The museum, established in 2005 through the initiative of the organisation Kunstmuseum Ahrenshoop devotes its attention to these artists and their works. With the completion of this building, it now has spaces in which the extensive collection, consisting of more than 500 paintings, graphics and sculptures, can be presented to the public in appropriate fashion.
Taking the artists’ rootedness in this place as point of departure, the design of the museum building also picks up on regional characteristics; it is inserted harmoniously in the fine-grained built fabric on the edge of town. The five low-slung structures appear to be grouped around a square – like a village – and their steep hip roofs are reminiscent of the reed roofs native to this region. But the individual structures, which house the exhibition spaces, are in fact linked by the foyers: this produces a larger complex. The choice of material also makes reference to traditional models, yet only in the figurative sense: what from a distance – due to the stripe-like structure and golden brown tone – could be interpreted as reed, turns out upon closer inspection to be irregularly folded brass sheet that sheathes not only the museum’s roofs, but also its facades.
The individual panels of wood that accompany the windows are the only interruption in the homogeneous envelope. However, the exhibition spaces receive light primarily from above: the seemingly truncated roofs are topped off with coffer-like skylights. The resulting construction provides the interiors with diffuse light. Thus, the white wall and ceiling surfaces in combination with light-grey screed floors furnish a restrained background for the works by Ahrenshoop’s artists.
Taking the artists’ rootedness in this place as point of departure, the design of the museum building also picks up on regional characteristics; it is inserted harmoniously in the fine-grained built fabric on the edge of town. The five low-slung structures appear to be grouped around a square – like a village – and their steep hip roofs are reminiscent of the reed roofs native to this region. But the individual structures, which house the exhibition spaces, are in fact linked by the foyers: this produces a larger complex. The choice of material also makes reference to traditional models, yet only in the figurative sense: what from a distance – due to the stripe-like structure and golden brown tone – could be interpreted as reed, turns out upon closer inspection to be irregularly folded brass sheet that sheathes not only the museum’s roofs, but also its facades.
The individual panels of wood that accompany the windows are the only interruption in the homogeneous envelope. However, the exhibition spaces receive light primarily from above: the seemingly truncated roofs are topped off with coffer-like skylights. The resulting construction provides the interiors with diffuse light. Thus, the white wall and ceiling surfaces in combination with light-grey screed floors furnish a restrained background for the works by Ahrenshoop’s artists.