At the heart of the former coal mine, the monumental coal-washing plant (converted some years ago by Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Böll and Krabel) provides a new home for the Ruhr Museum, which opened in January 2010.

This institution, which regards itself as the repository of the region’s memories, is probably the visually most fascinating of the new exhibition facilities completed in time for the Ruhr 2010 celebratory year.

Where once “black gold” was washed and sorted by complex and highly rationalized industrial processes, the natural and cultural history of the Ruhr area is now presented on three levels in a new integrated concept.

Despite the changes that have been made, this impressive industrial monument is not just a container for the objects on display; in a sense, it forms part of the exhibition itself.

Roughly 80 per cent of the machinery, for example, has been been left in place for reasons of conservation, a fact which posed something of a challenge for the museum designers from HG Merz in Stuttgart, who were forced to lay out the various collections and exhibitions around the existing objects.

The architects’ manifold design, which changes in character from one area to the next, is for the most part restrained, yet without forgoing the requisite mise en scène; for example, some of the finer exhibits are deliberately set off against the rough, stained walls.

The museum as a whole confronts visitors with a veritable flood of images and visual impressions.