Grimmwelt Kassel by kadawittfeldarchitektur. A place of fairytales

During our visit to documenta14 we dropped into Grimmwelt Kassel, the world of the Brothers Grimm. The building by German studio kadawittfeldarchitektur gives a new viewing zone with amphitheatre over the rooftops of the German city.


One of the great pros of documenta14 is without a doubt the decision by its artistic director Adam Szymczyk to extend the locations beyond the traditional spots of the Fridericianium, the Documentahalle and the Ottoneum museum of natural sciences. Not just moving to unusual places like the central postal building that we'll be discussing forthwith, but also to other museums in Kassel.
Like in Athens, in Kassel too, documenta14 has become an opportunity to turn exhibition centres spread across the city into a drawcard for visitors, to the advantage of the structures themselves. These include the GRIMMWELT, designed by kadawittfeldarchitektur, whose museum buildings always stand out because they blend harmoniously into the context (link). This exhibition venue is dedicated to the world of the Brothers Grimm, famous for their fairytales and for their German language dictionary.
The architecture connects closely with the fine surroundings of the Weinberg, namely a vineyard with awe-inspiring views of the Karlsaue park where it stands. The designers from kadawittfeldarchitektur rebuilt the stone stairs, the fragments of wall and the pergolas in the park to craft a travertine-covered building that extends the site's topography with a usable and freely accessible rooftop.
Visitors inside are greeted by a number of different levels that set out from a central foyer. From here you go up towards the Falada café, named after the talking horse in The Goose Girl, offering delightful views of the Karlsaue and the Südstadt. The actual exhibition rooms are located on the various underground levels dedicated to both the world of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and their language research, with a nod to history and even to the future.
Since it opened in 2015, a balanced and intelligent narrative alternates historical exhibits with the virtual and interactive world, enriched with special exhibitions.  It allows everyone - young and old, experts and the inquisitive - to get to know more about the different aspects of the world of the Brothers Grimm. And it's all inside a very elegant, usable building, a trademark of kadawittfeldarchitektur.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: kadawittfeldarchitektur, http://www.kadawittfeldarchitektur.de/
Exhibition project: Holzer Kobler Architekturen
Exhibition concept and direction: hürlimann + lepp Ausstellungen
Client: Stadt Kassel
Find out more: www.grimmwelt.de 
Awards:
2016 - polis Award 2016 - riconoscimento - Grimmwelt Kassel
2017 - Finalist DAM Preis 2017 - Grimmwelt Kassel
2016 - Finalist The Plan Award 2016 - Grimmwelt Kassel
2016 - Deutscher Städtebaupreis 2016 - riconoscimento - Grimmwelt Kassel
2015 – Edificio dell'anno 2015 german-architects - Grimmwelt Kassel
Images: Andreas Weber - Jan Bitter - A. Berthel (outside) - Nikolaus Frank (internal photographs)