Neue Pinakothek
Munich, Germany 2016–present (under construction)
Client: Freistaat Bayern, Staatliches Bauamt München 1
Caruso St John has been working on the refurbishment of the Neue Pinakothek art museum in Munich since 2016. The building, open since 1981, is one of Germany’s most important post-war museums and houses the 19th-century art collection of the Bavarian state. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Munich-based practice Hild und K.
The project’s aim is to fully refurbish this major work by the architect Alexander von Branka, a design very much of its time combining both structuralist and post-modern spatial and formal ideas from the 1960s and 70s. The impressive stone clad building has the image of a citadel and is located in the middle of the city’s Kunstareal. In addition to a series of impressive stone clad public spaces the museum is well known for its excellent top lit gallery spaces, whose walls are lined in colourful silk and follow the model of the 19th century picture gallery. The original gallery lighting has not been functional for many years is being remade so that all of the art spaces are once again naturally lit in a manner that conforms to contemporary conservation standards. In addition to repairing and refurbishing all aspects of the original architecture, the project aims to enhance those aspects of the museum programme that were not present when the original museum was designed. Physical access is being universally improved in the approach, entry, and interiors of the building. Spaces for education, and other public amenities are also being added and enhanced, acknowledging and encouraging new audiences to use the museum. Finally, a new suite of temporary exhibition galleries is being formed on the lower ground level of the museum.
In line with the aspirations of the client and the design team, materials are being reused and repaired where possible, and new mechanical installations are optimised to take advantage of renewable energy sources and to reduce energy consumption where possible by using local installations and heat recovery.

Credits
Location
Munich, Germany
Date
2016 – ongoing
Client
Freistaat Bayern, Staatliches Bauamt München 1
Area
28,000 m2
Project architects
Timo Keller, Steffi Wedde
Project team
Kouros Azar, Gabe Brown, Julia Cramer, Chiara Friedl, Niclas Gebhardt, Simon Höbel, Eva Janusch, Yousuf Khalil, Christoph Kuhr, Carlos Peters, Denise Roth, Emilie Sauter, Tabea Stihl, Lieslore Vandecandelaere
Collaborating architects
Hild und K
Site Management
HZO bauen und beraten
Structural engineer
Sailer Stepan und Partner GmbH
Services engineer
Ottitsch GmbH & Co.
Electrical Engineer
IBM-TGA-GmbH
Building physics
Müller BBM GmbH
Fire Safety consultant
Kersken & Kirchner GmbH
Lighting consultant
Lichtvision Design GmbH
Lift consultant
CNW Ingenieure GmbH
Project Manager
m3 GmbH
Photography
Caruso St John Architects, Waltraud Krase (Historic), Michael Heinrich (Construction)
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