Zoological Museum, Hamburg
Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3
20146 Hamburg

Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 9.00 to 17.00 o’clock

What could a natural history museum of the 21st century look like? The special exhibition of the Academy for Architectural Culture (aac) in the Zoological Museum, Hamburg, provides some answers. In the context of the Evolutioneum workshop, scholarship students of the aac have produced designs in two parts, which are on display at the Zoological Museum, Hamburg, until 27 August. The Evolutioneum is a museum concept which builds a bridge between science and the public, and which also provides space for natural science collections and exhibitions.

On the occasion of the opening of the new foyer in the Hamburg Zoological Museum on 27 April, the Centre for Natural Science (CeNak) presented a new exhibition area with a contemporary exhibition concept. This is the setting in which the Academy for Architectural Culture (aac) shows the designs for an Evolutioneum. The term is based on the idea of reviving the Natural History Museum in Hamburg, which was destroyed in 1943 during the Second World War. As part of the workshop, scholarship students of the aac have dealt with the concept of a new building on the one hand and, on the other hand, with the change of use of the existing structure.

An Evolutioneum is a place where two contrasting elements merge – state-of-the-art research and the care of historic collections. The aac exhibition follows up on this idea by presenting the exhibits both in analog as well as digital form. With the help of expressive architectural models of the designs for a new building, the two approaches are separate from each other although they can be experienced together. Visitors can obtain further information digitally from five monitors to learn about the concepts for the new building at Hamburg’s Baakenhöft area. Likewise, visitors can study the development of an architectural concept from the initial vision to the completed design. Information displayed on the walls explains how, in general, an aac workshop is structured, who are the most important representatives of the aac, and what the exact tasks of the groups were. In addition, one display cabinet shows visitors the history of the Natural History Museum to help them understand why the collection and the idea of the Evolutioneum are closely linked with the city of Hamburg. The concepts of the change of use groups, who redesigned the historic telecommunications office at Schlüterstrasse to convert it into a modern museum, can be experienced through illustrated flip books.

aac-Team Annika Göttle, Christine Graff,
Enno Maass, Anja Meding
Workshop directors for the Evolutioneum
Meinhard von Gerkan und Nikolaus Goetze
Exhibition design and project management
Heidi Knaut, Amran Salleh
Graphic design ON Grafik, Hamburg: Tom Wibberenz mit Hendrik Sichler und Felix Heining

Academy for Architectural Culture (aac)
The aac is a private and not-for-profit institution located in Hamburg, which was founded in 2008 by the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp). Its teaching approach is based on the many years of professional and teaching experience of its founders and sponsors. Its curriculum is based on the understanding that architecture is creative art with a social obligation and application; it is designed to prepare architects for their holistic role in a globalized world. The aac practices dialog across disciplines and cultural boundaries. In its courses, it combines teaching, research, and the practice of architectural culture. The design tasks are based on real scenarios, with topics covering current socially relevant issues in architecture and urban design, for which designs are produced as examples of a solution. The aac has its main premises at the historic Navigation School at Rainvilleterrasse in Hamburg. This historic monument, with its classic Moderne style, was renovated and carefully modernized in 2012 by the gmp Foundation in order to revive it as a place for education and culture; today it is the Rainvilleterrasse campus.

Contact
Enno N. Maass
Director of Programme
Managing Director

aac Academy for Architectural Culture
Campus Rainvilleterrasse
Rainvilleterrasse 4
22765 Hamburg
T +49.40.31 70 16 19
contact@aac-hamburg.de

Press contact
aac Academy for Architectural Culture
Florian Steinkröger
Press Officer
T +49.40.88 151 134
fsteinkroeger@gmp-architekten.de