14.01.2025

Biotopia: A house of the future

Building design

Natural History Museum

Biotopia will be built in Munich Nymphenburg in the coming years. Visualization: Staab Architekten

On June 14, 2021, a new, extremely ambitious museum project in the field of natural sciences was presented in an online information event: Biotopia, Bavaria’s future natural history museum The current design plans for Biotopia were presented at the online event. Moderated by Ursula Heller from Bayerischer Rundfunk, the invited experts outlined their personal ideas and hopes for Biotopia. They addressed the fundamental […]

On June 14, 2021, a new, extremely ambitious museum project in the field of natural sciences was presented in an online information event: Biotopia, Bavaria’s future natural history museum

The current design plans for Biotopia were presented at the online event. Moderated by Ursula Heller from Bayerischer Rundfunk, the invited experts outlined their personal ideas and hopes for Biotopia. They discussed the basic concept, questions of exhibition architecture and the architecture of the building.

Biotopia will be built in Munich Nymphenburg in the coming years. It will expand the existing Museum Mensch und Natur and virtually reinvent it – as a museum of the 21st century and a future forum for science communication. After a welcoming address by Bavarian Science Minister Bernd Sibler, the Chairwoman of the Biotopia Sponsors’ Association, Dr. Auguste von Bayern, spoke about the concept of the new museum, which will focus on the life sciences and also address the growing environmental fears of adults and children.

“Just as the Deutsches Museum prepared people for industrialization 100 years ago, Biotopia is now preparing them for the changes and challenges of the 21st century,” she explained. In her contribution, however, she also addressed the questions and fears of those Munich residents who had grown fond of their old Museum Mensch und Natur over the years: what will become of it when the new museum arrives? Will some of the content be modified or will it simply be a clean slate?

The original idea of a natural history education center

Dr. Michael Apel, director of the Museum Mensch und Natur and deputy director of Biotopia, then spoke about the circumstances that led to the opening of the Museum Mensch und Natur in 1990. The considerations went back to the 1970s, when issues such as environmental pollution, species and forest extinction etc. first became relevant and the first Ministry of the Environment in Germany, headed by Dr. Alfons Goppel, was founded in Bavaria.

This was a reaction to the increasing environmental fears among the population. Goppel actually wanted to have a natural history education center built, a project that had been pursued since 1967 but was discontinued in 1983 due to budget constraints. The plan to build a new museum costing DM 120 million had failed. In 1984, however, the opportunity arose to set up the Museum of Man and Nature in the north wing of Nymphenburg Palace. It was opened in 1990 by the then Bavarian Minister President Max Streibl.

The Museum of Man and Nature

The finite nature of our planet’s resources was addressed here for the first time. The idea of conveying scientific content in a playful way was also new, although this often led to the assumption that the museum was purely a children’s museum. Since then, the formation of the solar system, the history of the earth and the development of life, as well as human anatomy and biology, nutrition and environmental problems and the relationship between humans and nature have been presented on 2,500 square meters.

However, the premises are far too small for the many uses and the museum was seen from the outset as a “preliminary investment for the actual natural history education center” (Streibl). It was therefore initially a “permanent provisional solution”. The relocation of the Institutes of Genetics and Microbiology of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from the neighboring building complex to Martinsried provided the opportunity to realize the long-planned expansion of the museum.

Biotopia: A place for hope and optimism

The founding director of Biotopia, Prof. Dr. Michael John Gorman, underlined the importance of the project: “We are facing huge challenges and urgently need a place of hope and optimism to inspire future generations.” He vividly compared the complete transformation and redesign of the museum to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. There would be space for special exhibitions, the workshops would then be directly on site and topics such as climate change, species extinction etc. could then be adequately presented.

The aim is to create a modern natural history museum and show “how the relationship between humans and other species can be reshaped”. With the Nymphenburg Palace Park and Botanical Gardens in the immediate vicinity, the location also offers opportunities to experience nature. In this way, the ambitious Bavarian nature network, which extends from Eichstätt via Bayreuth to Nördlingen and Bamberg, could be further expanded.

Exhibition space

The museum will have over 7,000 square meters of exhibition and event space and over 1,000 square meters for special exhibitions, as well as four visitor laboratories. While the “Bavarium” will take visitors on a journey through the natural history of Bavaria, the main exhibition will show “Life in Action” in the chapters “Eating and Drinking”, “Sleeping”, “Walking”, “Reproduction”, etc.

In the Neuro Lab, everything revolves around neuroscientific experiments and in the Eating Lab, the question “What should the diet of the future look like?” is examined. “Bruno the Problem Bear” will be on display in a section on animal migration. Although augmented reality and the latest educational technology will be used, the aim is “not to design a museum with nothing but touchscreens.”

In a video message, internationally renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall underlined the importance of Biotopia in the global goal of improving the relationship between humans and the natural world around us. Astrophysicist and science journalist Harald Lesch also spoke out in favor of the Biotopia project in his video message and offered his active support.

The new Biotopia museum building

Finally, the architect, Prof. Volker Staab, explained his building. Staab won the architectural competition for Biotopia in 2014. He has already designed several museums in Bavaria (Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth, Neues Museum Nuremberg). The work is scheduled to last from 2023 to 2028. However, due to the close proximity to Nymphenburg Palace, some members of the public expressed concerns. They saw the unified effect of the baroque palace at risk.

Due to the contamination of the former building, Staab decided, in consultation with the State Office for the Protection of Monuments, to build a new building in the old proportions and in harmony with the overall complex once designed by Joseph Effner. The plans he submitted to the competition have recently been significantly revised to refute any criticism that the new building would jeopardize the character of the palace ensemble.

03.01.2025

Design

Sculpture of the month: Last heartbeat

Building design

March 2016: The sculpture "Last Heartbeat" made of portobello limestone by Julia Dietrich at the cemetery in Lauterhofen. (Photo: Artist)

At the end of life, the soul departs from the body into eternity. The Protestant pastor of the Lauterhofen parish, Helmut Gerstner, sees this moment in the sculpture that today forms the heart of the newly opened urn community facility at the Lauterhofen cemetery.

At the end of life, the soul departs from the body into eternity. Helmut Gerstner, the Protestant pastor of the Lauterhofen parish, sees this moment in the sculpture that today forms the heart of the newly opened urn communal area in the Lauterhofen cemetery. It is almost impossible to capture the transition from life to death in words. Our sculpture of the month for March 2016 stands for a constructive confrontation with human finiteness, an accompaniment in mourning and a sense of the questions about an intangible afterlife.

Funeral culture today often goes hand in hand with anonymous, low-maintenance urn graves. Although there is also a trend towards individual grave markers, it cannot be denied that the field of activity of stonemasons is changing fundamentally with the transformation of the cemetery. This is nothing new. What is exciting is the different ways in which these cultural development processes are being responded to. There are many positive examples of stonemasons applying their skills to new concepts for the cemetery. They do not resign themselves, they react, design and implement.

Julia Dietrich is a woman of action. The master stonemason and stone sculptor from Reitelshofen in the Upper Palatinate, who currently lives in Munich, sees change not only as a slump in the market for gravestones, but also as an opportunity to help shape the cemetery of the future. For her, the contemporary cemetery is a place that provides space for mourning, but also reflects the diverse culture of our time – and not in a pessimistic sense. Culture should be cultivated! For the designer, the urn communal facility in Lauterhofen should be a place of value – not a run-of-the-mill urn wall. Every visitor to the cemetery could create an individual connection to the memorial site.

The site consists of a spiral-shaped bed – a symbol of the path of life on earth. The limestone sculpture stands centrally at the end of the path. Graphically comparable to an ECG line, which pulsates in life and rests in death, it builds up rhythmically from bottom to top. The last beats of the heart rate finally come to rest in the direction of the sky. The trials and tribulations of life lead to clarity and complete unity with God or nature or whatever everyone imagines the afterlife to be.

Dietrich developed the concept in uncertainty as to whether it would be realized at all. She suggested to the municipality, which had a need for new urn burial sites, that a design plan be drawn up as part of her final thesis. The plan was reviewed by the local council and ultimately approved. Planned and done. When working on her masterpiece made of portobello limestone, she first approached the form by removing the bosses from each of the four sides with the help of an angle grinder, a pneumatic hammer and pointed and toothed chisels. The sculpture was then erected. Julia Dietrich pulled the surface together while standing (toothed irons, grinding stones, files) and finally removed any excess material.

Today, her masterpiece stands in the cemetery – in the place where it was meant to be. Julia Dietrich knew this right from the start. The artist was only satisfied with her work and its impact once the sculpture had been moved to its intended location. “I put a lot of heart and soul into my projects, always with the risk of being disappointed in myself,” she says. “Such tasks involve a long process in which I can learn a lot about myself, my work and my skills – that’s priceless! I also have to think about that when I see my masterpiece standing there now.”

Her contribution to cemetery culture shows a viable future for the stonemasonry trade. The focus should be on good craftsmanship and quality. Selling cheap products from other countries is not an option for Dietrich. “We lose face that way, don’t we? And actually betray ourselves as craftsmen and, above all, as people,” Dietrich emphasizes her convictions. The youthful strength of her words and actions is reflected in her work. And that is precisely what is not out of place in today’s cemetery, but important: joie de vivre and openness to new things! Because death is not only associated with the mourning of the deceased, but also with the celebration of their lives and of life and its manifestations in general.

Find out more about the artist here. Our insider tip: On April 16, 2016, you can get a closer look at Julia Dietrich and her work in the documentary series “Zwischen Spessart und Karwendel” on Bavarian television.

31.10.2024

Gone with the wind

Building design

Various performances and events take place under the roof

The new pavilion at the Design Museum Holon in Israel makes use of the wind. It makes thousands of plastic balls dance on the roof surface.

Israel’s Holon Design Museum, the national design museum, has received a new work of art. The “Cloud Seeding” pavilion by Modu and Geotectura shows that art is not only a social need, but can also be a shared experience. It consists solely of scaffolding and a simple roof construction.

The concept of the pavilion is quickly explained: the roof consists of scaffolding, transparent fabric that spans the roof surface and an air-permeable frame. Thousands of plastic balls or “seeds” made from recycled PET are moved back and forth in this basin by the wind. This results in a fascinating interplay of light and shadow. The construction carries 30,000 balls, which can roll freely across the entire roof surface. The pavilion in the museum’s inner courtyard is used for various events, including public dance classes.

The team found inspiration in the greenhouses that are omnipresent in Israel’s landscape. They have been reinterpreted as a pavilion for culture, leisure and public events.

The architecture firm Modu is based in New York and London and is primarily concerned with design on all scales, from urban planning to interior design, which aims to connect people with their surroundings.

You can see how the concept works in reality here: