Magdeburg Center Industrial Culture
With its diverse collections, its architecture characterised by technology and its location on the former site of the Gruson works, today’s Magdeburg Museum of Technology has a potential that goes far beyond that of a regional museum. Even the first master plan in 2020 classified it as a place where central issues such as digitalisation, climate change, structural change and migration can be addressed with contemporary museum work. The museum should develop into a so-called third place: a public forum for exchange and discussion. The present study deepens and continues this vision. The Magdeburg Centre for Industrial Culture should serve the local and regional identity and invite visitors to participate through diverse educational and cultural offerings. As an open house, it should invite visitors to engage in dialogue. In addition to the region’s rich industrial heritage, the permanent exhibition also focuses on the present and the future, with partners from industry and science presenting their research, projects and products that transport the concept of Made in Magdeburg into the 21st century.
Master Plan for the expansion and new conception of the Magdeburg Museum of Technology into a center for industrial culture as well as the addition of a central depot for Magdeburg’s museums.
Master plan
The centre and mainstay of the concept are the technology museum and the technology park in which it is embedded. The restoration and public workshops, which are also located here, turn these into a place where objects are not only exhibited, but where people actively work on and with them. A large number of these objects are made accessible to the public in a display depot. Event formats geared to specific target groups will be developed around these focal points. The expertise of the participating museums gathered in one place will create a network node with supra-regional significance.
The brochure serves to illustrate the project and present the architectural studies. The Magdeburg Center for Industrial Culture consists of three distinct units: the Technology Museum housed in the historic workshop (the old building), the new building featuring the visible storage and workshops, and the surrounding technology and leisure park that connects the two structures.
The planned new building is primarily intended for the research and proper conservation storage of collections that are not part of the permanent exhibition. At the heart of the new building is the visible storage area with its accessible restoration workshops. Here, visitors not only gain insight into typically hidden areas of a museum but can also actively engage with the objects — learning, playing, working, or conducting research. Dedicated additional workshops are planned specifically to support this educational work.