Collections and Research Centre of the Tyrolean State Museums, Tyrol

The Collections and Research Center of the Tyrolean State Museums in the town of Hall is the central facility for the collections administrated by the Tyrolean State Museums, which—with several million art objects and cultural items—numbers among Austria’s largest regional holdings. In “Tyrol’s Treasure Chest”, storage areas, workshops, workspaces, and research labs are bundled in one location. The core of this outwardly severe-looking building contains an open, green atrium that provides leisure space for the facilities employees. The architectural concept and minimal use of technology prove that a sustainable and resource-saving mode of construction need not look antiquated. The building radiates self-confidence, durability, and a certain aloofness—thus serving as an incisive complement to Hall’s urban landscape. Human memory is short, as we all know, but here it is preserved.

What makes this project one-of-a-kind?
The Collections and Research Center was a complex project aimed at satisfying a diverse range of specific user requirements. Intense discussions with the Tyrolean State Museums gave rise to a simple and effective spatial concept that takes into account the need for short distances between areas, a high-quality environment for work and break-taking, and a safe, protective environment for work with the collection objects themselves. At the core of this structure, the architects created for the employee team an open-air atrium with greenery as an antipode to the hard outer shell.
The repository, at nearly 8,000 m², takes up the greatest amount of space in this building. Two of the building’s three floors are completely embedded in the ground – this wine cellar principle makes use of the constant ambient temperature underground to serve the repository’s climate-related needs, while keeping the required technology to a minimum.