Burkinabè-led practice Kéré Architecture has revealed plans for a new art and photography museum in northern Germany that places material intelligence, climate responsiveness, and local craft at the heart of its design. Named Museum Ehrhardt, the project will rise in the village of Plüschow, introducing a contemporary cultural landmark defined by an 80-metre-long rammed-earth wall and a generous timber pergola.
The museum will provide approximately 1,400 square metres of exhibition and public space, complemented by a 3,900-square-metre landscaped garden. It will be situated next to Schloss Plüschow, an existing artist residency and gallery, strengthening the site’s role as a long-established hub for artistic production and cultural exchange. For studio founder Diébédo Francis Kéré, the project marks his first cultural building in Germany, adding a significant chapter to his growing portfolio of civic and cultural architecture across Europe and Africa.
Architecture Rooted in Place and Craft
Kéré Architecture’s proposal responds closely to the architectural and material traditions of the region. The museum takes the form of a rectilinear timber structure, referencing the pitched and gabled forms typical of northern German buildings. This wooden volume is paired with rammed-earth construction, a material historically used in the area and one central to Kéré’s practice for its environmental performance and tactile quality.
According to the studio, the design is intentionally “contextual and craft-focused,” combining wood and clay construction techniques that emphasise local knowledge while addressing contemporary sustainability goals.
Two façades of the main volume subtly curve inward, creating space for a mature tree on one side and an outdoor seating area on the other. These gentle deformations soften the building’s geometry and allow the architecture to adapt to its immediate surroundings rather than dominate them.
A Pergola Designed for Change
Encasing the building is a timber pergola, conceived as a lightweight and potentially demountable structure. Extending beyond the southern façade, the pergola provides shade to part of the garden and mediates between interior and exterior spaces. Its reversible construction reflects a broader commitment to long-term adaptability and responsible material use.
Visitors will enter the museum through a projecting entrance volume that leads into a reception area and museum shop, before transitioning into the exhibition spaces beyond.
An Interior Organised Around Earth
At the core of Museum Ehrhardt’s interior is its most distinctive feature: an 80-metre-long rammed-earth wall that winds through the building. Rather than acting as a static divider, the wall becomes a spatial organiser, guiding movement and shaping a sequence of galleries.
Its curved form encloses a dedicated gallery at one end and a multifunctional room at the other, while a more open and flexible exhibition zone unfolds between them. Beyond its sculptural presence, the wall also plays a critical environmental role. Its thermal mass helps stabilise indoor temperatures and regulate humidity, contributing to a comfortable interior climate without heavy reliance on mechanical systems.
Clerestory openings and carefully integrated gallery lighting illuminate the textured clay surfaces, highlighting the material’s natural stratification and reinforcing the sensory quality of the spaces.
Café, Roof Terrace, and Landscape Integration
Behind the exhibition areas, the rammed-earth wall continues to define a café space, where openings in the timber structure frame views of the surrounding landscape. From the café, visitors can access an internal staircase leading to a roof terrace planted as a garden. The terrace is envisioned as a calm outdoor retreat, with paved seating areas, lush vegetation, and shelter provided by the timber roof structure.
At ground level, the café opens directly onto a grass-covered garden designed not only for leisure but also for rainwater management. The subtly contoured landscape collects and stores rainwater, which is then reused to irrigate the green spaces on site, significantly reducing dependence on external water supplies.
Back-of-house functions are discreetly integrated, with a kitchen on the ground floor and office spaces on the upper level, ensuring the building supports both public and operational needs.
A Cultural Legacy in the Making
Museum Ehrhardt was initiated by Jens Ehrhardt, the son of German artist Alfred Ehrhardt, together with his wife Elke Weicht Ehrhardt, as a contribution to the cultural life of northern Germany. The project is currently under construction, with planning and execution overseen by Austrian practice HK Architekten.
The museum joins a wider body of cultural work by Kéré Architecture, including the recently unveiled mausoleum for Burkina Faso’s former president Thomas Sankara and a cultural centre in Togo dedicated to celebrating the heritage of the Ewé people. In Plüschow, however, the studio brings its philosophy of socially grounded, climate-sensitive architecture into a European rural context—demonstrating how local materials and global ideas can converge to shape meaningful cultural spaces.
