Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen

Built in 1933, the harbour railway station became a landmark of the town and a monument of classical modernism. After the war, it declined in importance, and in 1992 it was decided to refurbish the building and put it to other uses. Its architectural expression, large spaces and clear load-bearing system – a steel skeleton frame – meant that the building was ideally suited for a museum. On the second floor, the walls were removed to create exhibition space. Dilapidated façade elements were reinstated, and the gaps caused when the station building was separated from the tracks in the 1980s were closed by two structures at the sides. These extensions have solid plinths, and translucent glass fa-çades on the upper floor. The lightweight metal roofs echo the former platform roofs. Between the existing legs of the U-shape station tract a glass hall was inserted in which a reconstructed section of a Zeppelin was installed. On the upper level of the hall, let into the Zeppelin and lighted via north-light roofs, is a space for a permanent exhibition.