“Cold” Room in the Museum

The newly renovated Schocken Department Store in Chemnitz recently changed its function to become the National Museum of Archaeology. The building, which is protected under the Preservation of Historical Monuments Act, was renovated and now houses the collection of archaeological treasures of the Free State of Saxony in Germany.

Designed and built by the architect, Erich Mendelsohn (1927-1930), the semicircular building forms a very attractive presentation space for more than 6000 exhibits. The very elaborate presentation, designed by Atelier Brueckner from Stuttgart, Germany, among many other very interesting exhibitions, also includes a so-called “Glacier” room. This feature illustrates the effects of the ice ages on the environment.

The use of planar solid surface material plates tinted with an opal color tone demonstrates the corner of a glacier. Bluish backlighting reinforces the impression of ice formations. The matte surface of the plates also serves as a presentation surface for various information boards and video sequences.

Under contract to the Swiss general interior decorator, Nuessli, 5D Engineering prepared the execution plan for this room. First of all, using paper and cardboard, Atelier Brueckner created a 3D model of the “glacier” as a design idea for the room.

In the model, a substructure of steel tubing was planned that included flexible “arms” to secure the glacier plates in position. After confirmation by the customer, structural engineers and the architect, 5D prepared the entire workshop planning. Due to its detailed knowledge, the 5D engineering team was able to provide answers to further enquiries during assembly and installation at short notice.

We recommend that you visit the glacier room to get an impression of the results at your earliest convenience.