David Chipperfield Architects Berlin completes the second and final construction phase of southern Germany cultural and convention center Carmen Würth Forum.
By Lauren Mang
Photographed by Simon Menges
The recently opened Museum Würth 2 houses an expansive private art collection, as well as a café and foyer.
With construction of the new conference center and art museum wing, Museum Würth 2, now complete, the Würth Group’s Carmen Würth Forum is primed for visitor strolls through its art-filled galleries and sculpture garden.
The 143,000-square-foot cultural gem, located in Künzelsau, Germany, and designed in two phases by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, features a chamber music hall and great hall (completed in 2017), a multipurpose conference area, and museum spaces housing contemporary and modern works from the Würth Collection. (The massive private art collection was founded in the 1970s by Reinhold Würth, whose wife Carmen is the Forum’s namesake.)
A windowed belvedere overlooks Germany's Hohenlohe countryside.
“This second construction phase will mark the completion of the Carmen Würth Forum, fulfilling Würth’s vision to create a gathering place for [the Würth Group’s] employees and the wider community beyond,” architect David Chipperfield says. “It symbolizes the connection between a place of work, its community, and the surrounding environment, which the company has nurtured so impressively over the years.”
The museum portion features a café and foyer with a large exhibition hall and a smaller, more intimate art gallery. A windowed belvedere (an architectural feature designed to capture a sweeping vista) presents views of the Hohenlohe countryside, where the vast art collection experience continues in a sculpture park. Visitors can explore works from such notable sculptors as Tony Cragg, Niki de Saint Phalle, Anthony Caro, Jaume Plensa, and Georg Baselitz.