On the edge of Grunewald forest in southwest Berlin, Constructlab realised Waldraum, an experiential space for social encounters, for the Brücke Museum, which houses a large collection of works by members of the German expressionist movement “Die Brücke”. A transparent and permeable shell allows transformations from outside to enter the inside space: an open and bright room for art-making and meetings between human and non-human elements. The unobstructed view of the natural surrounds is in keeping with architect Werner Düttmann‘s 1967 concept for the museum building itself.

The new building offers the Brücke Museum an additional space for working with different publics and neighbourhoods. Placed in the museum’s garden as it borders with the edge of the forest, the Waldraum – in its materiality and grey energy – sits in dialogue with the seasons and the surrounding trees, positioning the visitor as a guest of the museum’s surrounds. For the realisation of this hybrid building, which consists of a rough, raw wooden shell and a glass industrial greenhouse, the architects focused on situational thinking and a locally-oriented mode of working: the wood is sourced partly from the garden of the Brücke Museum itself and the surrounding forests, while the greenhouse is a recycled industrial product. The slat-like wooden outer shell can be adjusted depending on the light situation, providing as much shade as possible during warmer seasons and letting in as much light as possible when temperatures are lower. Sustainability and resource conservation determined the entire design process and implementation.

The use of wooden materials for the outer shell means that the space blends into the natural environment. The greenhouse itself, however, forms an energetically and technically efficient cultural space in contrast to its natural surrounds. It creates a transparent space, allowing visitors to have an intensive and direct experience of nature – which was also key to the work of the artists of Die Brücke themselves.