The museum forms the core of the urban upgrading of a slab built over a traffic junction at the edge of Schlossplatz and completed in 1968. The newly-created public space uses several changes of height to create a flowing transition from the new Kleiner Schlossplatz to Königstrasse – with an external flight of steps as a place to stroll around in. A three-storey stone cube for travelling exhibitions is encased in a cube of partially printed white glass with edges 30 metres long.
Transparency and usability are an integral part of the design of the cube, which serves as a display case for the museum. The rooftop level with the glassed-in restaurant and events room offers panoramic views of the inner city. A generously dimensioned staircase leads from the entrance area to the interior of the stone cube, and a long circulation route takes one to the introverted collection rooms located below the new Kleiner Schlossplatz on two superimposed levels created in former traffic tunnels that are no longer needed. These two exhibition levels are directly connected by voids and galleries and provide particularly tall presentation spaces. A band of glazing inserted in the square above the collection rooms indicates the concealed presence of art underground. At night, the band is artificially lit from below, turning it into a poetic urban symbol.
