Academy of Media Arts

Through a new extension, the Academy of Media Arts (Die Kunsthochschule für Medien-KHM) has an assured future at its location to the south of Cologne's inner city. A complex arrangement of uses is accommodated on a tight site in Filzgraben. Three building blocks make up the main functional units: the main building to the street with auditorium and workspaces; the studio building with film studio area and the cafeteria pavilion. The buildings surround a campus-like courtyard, which can be used for a variety or purposes, and offers terraced areas for the cafeteria pavilion. The courtyard, with its play of levels, is the identity-reinforcing middle point of the complex. It is surrounded by formally reduced, sculptural architecture, which demonstrates the strength of the monolithic. This conceptual approach is emphasised by the use of large-format Italian sandstone cladding (Pietra Sirena), full-storey high in some areas (text from website architects).