Art Depot Gratianusstiftung

The ‘Gratianus Foundation’ was founded in 2001 by Gabriele Straub and Hanns-Gerhard Rösch in Reutlingen and contains artworks from European and non-European art history spanning from the Old Stone Age to present time. The exhibition spaces are located in the renovated rooms of the ‘Villa Gratianusstraße 11’ from 1909. The new art depot for the ‘Gratianus Foundation’ generates required depot area that applies to current conservation standards.

The depot building adds to the existing ensemble of the villa, the private house and the rear garden area. A book archive at garden level and an art depot at street level are stacked vertically, only connected through an exterior landscaped ramp. The elemental, archetypal building form generates a street presence and a strong address, whereas the sloped roof form reacts to the existing roof landscape by mediating different parapet heights.

The abstract fair-faced concrete building purposely contrasts the figurative appearance of the existing villa. The abstract form is only perforated by precise, deep reveal openings serving as depot doors and a window for view to the rear garden area. The construction method allows the load-bearing facade to be poured in a single day and underlines the architectural concept with a single sculptural approach to form, material and detail.

Client: private
Status: Completed 2018
Location: Reutlingen
Gross floor area: 125 m2
Photography: Roland Halbe, Stuttgart