The four-storey gallery building is located on the Kupfergraben canal, a remarkable site overlooking the Lustgarten and Berlin’s Museum Island. The composition of the new volume reacts to its immediate context of historic perimeter development, while the scale of its window openings reflects the urban dimensions of a corner building. Solid materials that will age well characterise the exterior, and the interior is defined by daylight and proportion. The gallery spaces are kept simple: large, loft-like rooms with natural side lighting. In contrast to a museum, the intention was to create spaces where one can live, work, or show art - in a townhouse dedicated to the arts, not isolated from the world, but directly related to the cultural heart of the city.