Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln und Rheinisches Bildarchiv

A three-floored cloak-like structure protects the archives, as if enwrapping them; the windowless, auratic ‘shrine’ rises up from the stretched-out protective building like a treasury. Centrally located, this ‘treasury’ is aptly named as it accommodates the holdings of the Historical Archive and the Rhenish Picture Archive. Organised in a ring shape, the protective structure contains workshops, laboratories and working rooms for the archives, as well as public areas.