Berlin unveils a new cultural landmark designed by SPEECH

On the right of the image is the exterior of an abstractly designed sandy-coloured building with floor to ceiling glass design on the topmost layer. On the left is two-toned building in 2 shades of brown

The new Tchoban Foundation Museum for Architectural Drawing, designed by Berlin- and Moscow-based architects SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov, recently opened in Berlin

(Image credit: TBC)

By Sophie Lovell

last updated 13 August 2022

Berlin's rich cultural landscape gained a new architectural feature this week in the form of a private museum, the Tchoban Foundation Museum for Architectural Drawing. Architect and owner Sergei Tchoban has built extensively in both Russia and Germany since co-founding the Russian practice SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov in the 1990s.

His studio is perhaps best known for Berlin's DomAquarée hotel, with its massive foyer fish tank, and the Federation complex currently under construction in MIBC Moscow City, which is set to feature the tallest building in Europe.

With 490 sq m of exhibition and archive space, Tchoban's Berlin museum is a little more modest in size. It is located on the border between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg in a 19th-century former brewery complex called the Pfefferberg, now best known for housing the Aedes architecture gallery.

Situated on a small sliver of land next to a firewall on the edge of the complex, it consists of a series of stacked and skewed cast-concrete boxes topped with a storey of glass, which lightens the overall aspect of the predominantly windowless façade.

Tchoban built the museum to house his extensive collection of historical architectural drawings and graphics, and to reflect this the sandy-coloured façade is covered in an ornamental relief of abstract marks that appear scratched into the surface.

The first exhibition on show, 'Piranesi's Paestum', is a fine selection of Giovanni Battista Piranesi's architectural drawings, on loan from London's Sir John Soane's Museum, which is in turn showing 'Northern Vision: Master Drawings from the Tchoban Foundation' from 21 June.

The exterior of an abstractly designed sandy-coloured building with floor to ceiling glass design on the topmost layer — The museum's architect and owner is Sergei Tchoban of the Russian practice SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov, who has built extensively in both Russia and Germany since co-founding his own practice in the 1990s

Two blocks (one rectangle and one square) photographed against a floor to ceiling window and grey floor with views of the outside — The Tchoban Foundation museum is located on the border between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg in a 19th-century former brewery complex called Pfefferberg

Left of the image is a grey stair case going up and on the right is a grey staircase going down towards the building exit. The staircase have glass banisters. Exit doors are floor to ceiling glass doors — The architects made the most of the site's modest size; the structure spans five floors

Sandy-coloured interior walls complemented by warm timber doors with a floor to ceiling glass window on the left. and grey staircase on the right — The sandy-coloured interior walls are complemented by warm timber doors and details

A structure made of stacked and skewed cast concrete boxes topped with a storey of glass, which lightens the overall aspect of the predominantly windowless façade — The structure was made of stacked and skewed cast concrete boxes topped with a storey of glass, which lightens the overall aspect of the predominantly windowless façade

A bare space with floor to ceiling glass walls with black panels and grey carpet and views of the city. On the left is a white shelving unit and cabinet — The glass box at the top offers great views of Berlin

A bare space with floor to ceiling glass walls with black panels and grey carpet and views of the city — The museum was built to house Tchoban's extensive collection of historical architectural drawings

A wooden door with vertical line designs in shades of brown — The first exhibition on show at the museum, 'Piranesi's Paestum', is a fine selection of Piranesi's drawings on loan from Sir John Soane's Museum in London

ADDRESS

Tchoban Foundation
Museum for Architectural Drawing
Christinenstraße 18 a
10119 Berlin

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