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Façade innovation by Rieder: A treasure map of glassfibre reinforced concrete
The new research and collection centre in Hall, Austria
The new research and collection centre in Hall is a veritable treasure chest: This is where millions of collection pieces of the Tyrolean Landesmuseen are carefully preserved – from a 3,000-year-old mummy and stone-age wedges to the string instruments of the legendary Tyrolean violin maker, Jakob Stainer. The design by the architectural offices, Franz&Sue is a striking, monolithic block with a dark and mysterious façade made of glassfibre reinfoced concrete elements, protecting the region's cultural heritage at the foot of the Tyrolean Alps.
Rieder preserves Tyrol's most precious treasures
The striking architecture underscores the bold landscape of the Tyrolean mountains. The dark grey outer skin with the concrete skin product by Rieder lends the research and collection centre its mysterious character. "The façade material tells a story of preservation and conservation. At the same time, the haptic of the concrete creates a certain attraction," explains Erwin Stättner of the architectural office, Franz&Sue. "With the elaborate design of the building envelope, we want to connect the old with the new and make it distinguishable: A hand axe from the seventh to eighth millennium is one of the oldest tools of the collection. It is the imprint of that tool that is visible on the deformed concrete slabs." The irregular arrangement of the smooth and deformed 60x60 centimetre elements is a metaphorical reference to the distribution of the places of discovery in Tyrol, whereas the jointing grid symbolizes the square lines on maps.
