As you exit Groningen Central Station, you can't miss it: the Groninger Museum. A remarkable building, designed by Alessandro Mendini in collaboration with other artists, designers, and architects. Mendini invited three guest architects to design their 'own' pavilions, including Coop Himmelb(l)au from Vienna.
Maintenance Coop Himmelb(l)au pavilion Groninger museum
The Coop Himmelb(l)au pavilion is designed as an enlarged sculpture on the base of the Mendini pavilions. Everything is askew and disruptive. The colors are those of the materials: grey for concrete, red for steel, and black for tar. The building materials are concrete and steel, with glass filling the spaces where the materials don’t touch.
SealteQ has been commissioned to restore the coating of the steel cladding of the pavilion. This cladding was installed 20 years ago and is due for major maintenance. The colors have faded and rust has formed in various places. We will also remove the nano-coating that is on it. This coating caused a haze over the cladding.
Challenging assignment
It’s a challenging assignment for several reasons. We are carrying out the work while the museum continues to operate. Moreover, the panels on the pavilion are not easily accessible. We do this using aerial work platforms positioned on the pontoon, the courtyard, and along the roadside. And last but not least, it’s important that the cladding retains its original design. This means a real precision job for our construction painters. If the weather cooperates in the coming period, the pavilion will look like new before the construction holiday.
RTV Noord made a feature about this special project. You can view it via this link: Groninger Museum gets new coat of paint: ‘This is very different from painting window frames’.