Berlin, Germany
Our design approach was to create a modern retelling of the ancient story of Noah’s Ark – an experience that provides a sense of hope and possibility to the people who will visit it,
explains Alan Maskin, Olson Kundig’s Design Principal.
Inspired by Noah’s Ark, Olson Kundig’s ANOHA—The Children’s World of the Jewish Museum in Berlin seeks to give the museum’s youngest guests a sense of hope and possibility.
Located within an existing, former flower market hall, ANOHA is a circular wooden ark, standing almost 23 feet tall with a 92-foot base diameter.
The curvilinear ark complements the curved ribs of the Brutalist light scoops overhead, while the shift in materiality from concrete to wood offers a softening counterpoint to the existing space.
ANOHA – Children’s World at The Jewish Museum Berlin has been recently awarded a 2022 American Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
ANOHA’s spherical construction is depicted like Noah’s Ark, a large wooden ship featured in the biblical text.
Its structure comprises a fir wood main structure with rubber-coated floors.
Its flexible and gentle nature can provide protection and prevent the child from hurting themselves when falling.
As the studio states, “the 585-square-meter ark is inspired by two seemingly disparate sources: an ancient Sumerian text that describes a circular ark, and Space Station V, a ship from Stanley Kubrik’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“The warm, curvilinear ark offers a softening counterpoint to the rectilinear brutalist structure of the existing hall, while the structural ribs within the ark echo the concrete ribbing that frames the skylights overhead.”
The space is filled with more than 150 sculptural animals, each created from found objects by a team of 18 German artists.
This approach encourages children to consider the importance of recycling and adaptive re-use, while supporting ANOHA’s core philosophy of creativity and imagination.
The tactile nature of these sculptural objects and the sense of playful discovery as children recognize the familiar materials used to make them further serve to highlight the importance of respecting, treasuring, and conserving global resources.
Interactive exhibits placed along an intuitive visitor pathway teach children how to solve problems independently and as a group, while explorative spaces modeled after unique habitats allow children to experience the diverse perspectives of the various animals.
Sustainable strategies are embedded in the architectural design as an integral part of the user experience.
Extensive mechanical systems are eliminated thanks to the environmental buffer of the existing hall, significantly lowering energy loads.
Ceiling fans and operable windows in the ark allow for air exchange and natural ventilation.
The hall’s curved concrete roof forms draw daylight into the interior.
The ark’s windows support this passive daylighting approach, while visually connecting ANOHA with the existing structure of the hall.
Project: ANOHA – Children’s World at The Jewish Museum Berlin
Architects: Olson Kundig
Lead Architect: Alan Maskin
Project Architect: Martina Bendel
Project Manager: Stephen Yamada-Heidner
Planning and Exhibition Management: von GROTE GmbH.
Contractor: Stiftung Judisches Museum Berlin
Client: Stiftung Judisches Museum Berlin
Photographers: Yves Sucksdorff, Hufton & Crow, and kubix Berlin
