Historical Archive of Cologne / Waechter + Waechter Architekten

A three-storey shell building hugs the archival documents protectively - the windowless, auratic 'shrine' rises from the elongated protective structure like a treasure house. The treasure house is centrally located and houses the holdings of the Historical Archive and the Rhenish Picture Library. The workshops, laboratories, and workrooms of the archives, as well as public areas, are in the ring-shaped building structure. A square and a longitudinal inner courtyard are cut between the treasure house and the protective sheath, the green of the surrounding still fellow park in the south is continued in the interior.