House for Film and Media
Digital Experience for All
  • Location
    Stuttgart
  • Project
    New construction of a house for film and media
  • Procedure
    Europe-wide building construction competition
  • Awarding authority
    Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart Referat Wirtschaft , Finanzen und Beteiligungen (WFB), Liegen-schaftsamt vertreten durch Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Technisches Referat (T), Hochbauamt, Abteilung Kultur-, Bäder- und Jugendbauten
  • Architect of record
    Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer
  • Planning period
    2021
  • Visualizations
    caspar.;
    moka-studio
  • Technical building equipment, structural engineering, energy concept
    Werner Sobek
  • Fire protection
    hhpberlin
  • Landscape Architecture
    Djao-Rakitine Landscape Architecture
  • Scenography
    Engenhart Design Studio

The city of Stuttgart is developing a “House for Film and Media” to provide a top-notch cultural and media education experience. In 2021, they launched a competition for this innovative project. The site is strategically located in the city center at the intersection of Leonhardsvorstadt and the old town, with a direct line of sight to the town hall. Our design envisions the new multimedia museum playing a mediating role on an urban scale as well. Thanks to the smart five-story stacking of the spatial program, the building does not form a rear side but instead opens up to the city, offering new inviting spaces for people to gather. We see it as a communication hub that brings together artists, visitors, and the local community. It’s a house for all generations, where digital natives and newcomers alike can experience and create art – a flexible and inclusive space that celebrates social diversity.

Play of lights

Our House for Film and Media has a simple, nearly cube-shaped structure. Its sculptural expression comes alive through a dynamic building shell made of recycled glass ceramic modules with integrated LED lamps. On the northwest side, the facade transforms into a screen, sending out text messages into the urban space, displaying interactive art, or simply presenting a play of color and light. The planted east facade offers a green contrast. The extensively glazed ground floor facade allows intriguing glimpses into the museum’s interior. A central open staircase provides vertical access through the building. The exhibition rooms and two movie theaters are located on the first two floors, while the third and fourth floors house workshop rooms and studios. The rooftop garden is an integral part of the museum, designed as a miniature landscape with a green hill and open-air cinema. Between the facades, a striking yellow staircase creates a memorable experience as visitors make their way down. Our concept also includes an integrative design for the public forecourt. The green hill is repeated here, creating a unique urban space with a green amphitheater, a water fountain, and 28 newly planted trees.

Good climate

The new multimedia museum is operated sustainably using relatively simple analogue measures and is connected to the city’s district heating network. Its optimized building envelope helps to reduce heat loss and heat gain, which helps keep energy costs low during use. Photovoltaic systems are installed on the roofs and facades, with the capability to store excess electricity temporarily. The interior temperature is regulated adiabatically, using evaporative cooling of the exhaust air, allowing for air cooling with using electrical energy. An automatic night-time cooling system is also in place to ventilate the building energy-efficiently. Additionally, rainwater collected from the roof is used to irrigate the plants on the east facade.

Project team