Kunsthalle Karlsruhe – A new departure

In 2012, the State of Baden-Württemberg (Land Baden-Württemberg) issued a call for tenders for professional services (VOF procedure) providing a project proposal to rectify structural and architectural deficits. However, the proposed solutions did not efficiently meet the specified terms of reference. As a result, a further architectural competition, now in two stages, was announced in 2017. The first construction phase required plans to realise a programme of refurbishing and restructuring the historic main building, while the second stage now comprised an idea competition on how to expand the Kunsthalle to the neighbouring Amtsgericht (district court) site.

In 2018, Staab Architekten was announced as the winner of the competition. This Berlin-based architectural office has already made its name in museum architecture with acclaimed projects for the LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte in Münster, the Albertinum in Dresden, and the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt am Main.

Kunsthalle Karlsruhe’s refurbishment and expansion was included in the Baden-Württemberg government’s coalition agreement as an important construction project. The ground-breaking ceremony for Kunsthalle Karlsruhe’s first construction phase took place in June 2024. Once construction site preparation was completed, work began on securing the site, dismantling technical installations and systems, and building remediation.

Before the civil and structural engineering work began in mid-2025, non-supporting walls, surface shafts, wall surfaces or suspended ceilings throughout the entire building were dismantled.

The Orangery is also undergoing refurbishment and will be reopened in a series of steps. In late summer 2025, one finished section was opened to host the Room to Grow cultural festival. When work is completed, the Orangery in the Botanic Garden will become a multifunctional space for exhibitions, performances, concerts and events, a place welcoming all visitors whether they are planning to view an exhibition or not.

After being closed for several years, the Orangery’s exhibition area is opening to the public again on 29 November 2025 with the special exhibition Archistories – Architecture in Art. From 2026, the Carrera will also be open for Kunsthalle events.

In 2018, Staab Architekten, a Berlin-based architectural office, won a two-stage competition for the Kunsthalle’s refurbishment. The special appeal of the winning design lies in its plan for placing a slender glass roof over the enclosed courtyard in the existing historic four-winged building.

The atrium, lowered by one storey, is to become the vibrant heart of the museum. Here, visitors will find the museum café as well as the ticket and information desk, cloakroom and lockers. As a multifunctional event location, the atrium offers a wide variety of options for encounters and dialogue.

This new centre in the museum will provide access to the galleries. After completing the second construction phase, visitors can then walk through an underground passage to reach the Kunsthalle’s extension in the former Amtsgericht (district court) building directly opposite on Waldstraße.

From the entrance of the historical main building, visitors will reach the atrium by a surrounding gallery on the same level. A spacious flight of steps leads down into the roofed atrium, which has been lowered by one storey. The seating steps can also be used as informal seating areas. As the new heart of the building, the atrium will facilitate visitor access to the different parts of the museum and improve orientation on each storey. From here, visitors can not only reach all services, but also the areas related to the Kunsthalle’s functions as a museum.

In addition, restructuring the Amersbach wing will improve access to the different storeys and orientation within the historic main building. As a counterpart to the staircase by Heinrich Hübsch opposite, this will play a key role in visitor flows and be the starting point for visitors to appreciate and view the collection.

In future, visitors will also be able to reach all areas accessibly by elevator.

With its glass roof, the naturally lit courtyard is to become a vibrant space for encounters and dialogue. Photovoltaic power plants and modernised glass surfaces aim to cut the building’s energy consumption.

In the Mohl Wing, the refurbishment revitalises the original basilica-like spatial design with a raised central nave and lower side aisles, and opens up the light-flooded rooms with their spreading exhibition areas to the public. The Art Education department will be located in the Mohl Wing between the two galleries, close to the art works.

Air-conditioning meeting international museum standards is not only designed to protect cultural artefacts in storage facilities, restoration workshops and galleries, but also provides a pleasant ambience for visitors to experience the exhibition. Lighting and security technologies as well as workshop facilities are to be modernised to meet today’s requirements.

In future, visitors can pass through an underground passage from the Kunsthalle’s atrium to the extension created in second construction phase in the former Amtsgericht (district court) building on the opposite side of Waldstraße.

To ensure the Kunsthalle has a functioning infrastructure, the second construction phase, still to be planned in detail, envisages an expansion building on the Amtsgericht (district court) site opposite. Rather than this extension merely seeking to enlarge the Kunsthalle’s exhibition space, it aims at fundamentally completing the museum. With this objective, it will make the museum comprehensively fit for the future in a way impossible by refurbishing the main building alone. As home to the Kunsthalle der Gegenwart (Gallery of Contemporary Art), the extension complements the historic 19th-century main building with a programmatic presentation of works highlighting developments from post-war modern art to today. At the same time, it further increases the museum’s appeal to urban society.

The Kunsthalle der Gegenwart (Gallery of Contemporary Art) is not only to house the permanent collection of 20th and 21st-century art, but also provide space for special exhibitions and a Paper Centre. Comprising the Collection of Prints and Drawings, Photography Collection, Paper Conservation and Restoration as well as the Library, the Paper Centre thus combines outstanding expertise in collecting, researching and preserving the medium of paper with accessible art education. This is designed to make the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe as an institution sustainably fit for the future and strengthen its role as a place of integration. As an open, participative venue, the Kunsthalle der Gegenwart (Gallery of Contemporary Art) is envisaged as a sign of renewal for the city. Here, the Kunsthalle is responding to the current museum discourse of cultural institutions as social spaces.

The concrete planning for the second construction phase could start at the earliest in the 2030s. By then, the planning for the new use of the Amtsgericht (district court) building must be completed. The entire process of deliberation and planning is subject to agreement on funding.

Although the historic main building is to remain the heart of this ensemble, it will be supplemented by the expansion building with the Kunsthalle der Gegenwart (Gallery of Contemporary Art). Together with the Junge Kunsthalle in the former court garden director’s house and the Orangery, this would create an art campus in the northern inner city. With the area also home to the Baden State Museum in Karlsruhe Palace, the Baden Art Association close to the Federal Constitutional Court and the Botanic Garden, this part of the city will have a strong and enhanced appeal for visitors. The art campus would have a scientific counterpart in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on the other side of the palace district.

In this way, the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe locations are to have their own particular profile. In terms of content and programme in the overall structure, the main building is dedicated to presenting the collection from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. As the main hub for visitors to explore individual buildings, it also houses the Visitor Centre and related services, such as the museum shop and café.

The Kunsthalle der Gegenwart (Gallery of Contemporary Art) is not only to house the permanent collection of 20th and 21st-century art, but also special exhibitions as well as a Paper Centre. Comprising the Collection of Prints and Drawings, Photography Collection, Paper Conservation and Restoration as well as the Library, the Paper Centre thus combines outstanding expertise in collecting, researching and preserving the medium of paper with accessible art education. Visitor access to the new gallery and Paper Centre will be via an underground passage from the historic main building.

As one of Germany’s first children’s museums, the Junge Kunsthalle not only offers exhibitions and educational services for young target groups, but also hands-on experience in practical art workshops.

In future, the Orangery will be home to sculptures, large-format installations, performances and experimental formats. It is envisaged as a multifunctional location designed to host concerts and events created in cooperation with other cultural institutions.