Frankfurt's Städel Museum

In the fall of 2007 Frankfurt's Städel Museum held a competition to decide who would be charged with the task of designing an extension for the building. Eight prominent German and International architecture firms were invited to take part and in February 2008, an international jury chaired by Louisa Hutton (architect BDA, Berlin) announced Frankfurt architects Schneider+Schumacher as the competition winners.

In February, the opening of the museum's all new contemporary art annex took place, revealing the inside of the undulating form that had taken shape in a 3,000 square metre plot underneath the Städel garden situated in front of the gallery's entrance.

Reaching as much as eight metres in height, the new hall is flooded with natural light thanks to 195 perfectly round skylights set into the curved and seemingly weightless ceiling each of which measure between 1.5 and 2.5 metres in diameter , forming a distinctive pattern on the garden lawn. This use of natural light is in keeping with the Museum's existing rooms, however in the Schneider+Schumacher extension, the skylights will also include a shading system to avert direct sunlight, while a blackout feature affords the possibility of blocking out daylight completely.

Ambient lighting is integrated into the skylights and individual outlets guaranteeing a great deal of flexibility when illuminating individual exhibits, ensuring that the museum's new section, which doubles its previous floor space is as functional as it is striking.