02.11.2024

Security, software and much more

Building design

Conservation, Cultural asset, International, Monument, Museum

D. Summer

This year’s FOCUS event in Brandenburg an der Havel from April 15 to 17 will focus on depot planning and collection management Museums today face a variety of challenges: One is plagued by a museum depot full to the brim, another has difficulties accommodating large-format and bulky objects in the depot due to suboptimal use of space and a third struggles with pest infestation or inadequate climatic conditions, which make it […]

Museums today face a variety of challenges: One is plagued by a museum depot full to the brim, another has difficulties accommodating large-format and bulky objects in the depot due to suboptimal use of space and a third struggles with pest infestation or inadequate climatic conditions that make storing objects dangerous. That’s why this year’s FOCUS event, which takes place from April 15 to 17, 2019, is all about depot planning and collection management. The three-day specialist congress at the Paulikloster in Brandenburg an der Havel will be dedicated to numerous lectures, field reports and discussion formats on the following topics: holistic project management for new and renovated collection depots, relocation management, logistics and transportation, collection management, security, emergency and risk management, pest prevention, storage technology, collection software, inventory, indoor climate, light protection, energy efficiency, conservational aspects, funding opportunities and operating concepts. Focus is an interdisciplinary forum for specialists from the museum, exhibition and cultural sectors. This year, the focus will therefore be on storage planning and collection management, with the FOCUS event covering a wide range of cultural institutions, large and small museums, archives and the special case of archaeological collections. In the accompanying communication formats in the form of workshops and a fishbowl discussion, but also at a joint dinner on the first day and a small get-together on the second day of the event, there will be the opportunity to make contacts with the participants and to engage in interdisciplinary discussions. Detailed solutions, best practice examples and also current products and service processes will be discussed. As usual, technical products and services from specialist companies will be presented in the approximately 1000 m² historic nave.

FOCUS: MUSEUM is organized by the non-profit association ‘Freunde des Archäologischen Landesmuseums Brandenburg e.V. (FALB)’ on behalf of and in cooperation with the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeological State Museum (BLDAM). The venue is the impressive, over 700-year-old Paulikloster in Brandenburg an der Havel, which houses the Archaeological State Museum. The Brandenburg State Archaeological Museum was officially opened in the Paulikloster in 2008. The State Museum is an institution of the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeological State Museum.

14.12.2024

Design

Old cemetery in a new guise

Building design

Cemetery, Germany, Outdoor area, Rock, sacral

The Evangelical-Lutheran parish of the Middle Franconian market town of Altdorf was confronted, as elsewhere, with the increase in urn burials. Together with the landscape architects Martin Völker and Lars Möller and the Eichstätt sculptor Günter Lang, it therefore created three urn islands within the historic grounds, which are united by a common design language. Anyone entering the cemetery through the main entrance […]

The Evangelical-Lutheran parish of the Middle Franconian market town of Altdorf was confronted, as elsewhere, with the increase in urn burials. Together with the landscape architects Martin Völker and Lars Möller and the Eichstätt sculptor Günter Lang, it therefore created three urn islands within the historic grounds, which are united by a common design language.
Anyone entering the cemetery through the main entrance will not notice these places at first glance. Visitors will find a well-kept cemetery with plenty of greenery and numerous beautiful, historic stones. The steel steles that border the new urn islands blend so harmoniously into this greenery that they only catch the eye on closer inspection.

The surrounding steel band with 75-centimetre-high rectangular tubular steles at rhythmic intervals is coated in shades of grey and various shades of green. The entrance to each area is marked with a steel band engraved with a psalm. A font designed by sculptor Günter Lang was specially digitized for this purpose. Lang is the artistic director for the design of the urn steles within the islands. Each design goes through his hands before it is approved by the cemetery administration. All the steles have a uniform base area and height. What Lang is particularly keen on, however, is the use of local STEIN. Some sample steles, made by local stonemasons, are already in place. A granite from the Bavarian Forest has traveled the longest distance, while the other grave markers are made of Franconian sandstone or Jura limestone from the Altmühltal. Günter Lang also wants stones that have something to say. Psalms, sayings and quotations can be engraved around the stele, Lang advises. He does not want to be seen as a censor, but as a mentor who helps to improve existing designs. Around 40 urns are currently available, with a further 20 planned.

Each of the islands has a central seating area within the lawn. Rock pears provide shade and are particularly striking in spring with their white flowers. The islands are not static; if necessary, the steel strip elements can be taken apart and moved or replaced with new ones. This allows the areas to grow as more space becomes available. The modern design is not to everyone’s taste, but, according to Martin Völker, it has also received approval from many sides – from all age groups. Two of the urn spaces have already been taken, and one already has a stele with the owner’s name and date of birth engraved on it. Right next to a bench is a large stele by Günter Lang, a striking yet harmonious combination of steel and stone that serves as a lasting memorial.

The interview with Mr. Thust on the subject of cemetery development and other exciting pictures can be found in STEIN 12/2014!

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01.11.2024

The mosaic cross of St. Martin’s Church

Building design

Destruction, Germany, Glass, Monument, STEIN

The mosaic cross by Claus Kilian (*1928) is attached to the exterior façade of the rectory of St. Martin’s Church in Hildesheim-Himmelsthür. The high-quality mosaic was made from smalt, gold, limestone and marble tessarae and depicts a typical scene from the life of St. Martin. The mosaic, which was only created in 1995, was in a very desolate condition. The […]

The mosaic cross by Claus Kilian (*1928) is attached to the exterior façade of the rectory of St. Martin’s Church in Hildesheim-Himmelsthür. The high-quality mosaic was made from smalt, gold, limestone and marble tessarae and depicts a typical scene from the life of St. Martin.

The mosaic, which was only created in 1995, was in a very desolate condition. The mosaic, which was glued to a plastic mesh, was peeling off in numerous places. It had already been glued again in various places. The adhesive used is probably not suitable for outdoor use. As the structure of the substrate and the adhesive used were the cause of the damage, the mosaic had to be removed from the wall, applied to a new substrate and reattached in its original position.

You can find out more about the removal, the new backing material and the fixing agent in RESTAURO 03.2014.

Photos (from top to bottom): Beate Skasa-Lindermeir, Rolf Gollnick