Museum for Industry and Labour, Rodengo

The Schaulager (viewable storage depot) of the Museum for Industry and Labour in Rodengo Saiano/ Italy was opened at the beginning of April 2009.

Unlike the representative headquarters of The Museum in Brescia (which is also planned by Kleihues + Schuwerk, competition 2004, construction 2009-2011), the Schaulager in Rodengo Saiano is a simple accumulation place of Northern Italy’s and Central Europe’s industrial past. The aesthetic and semantic concept for a Wunderkammer (curiosity cabinet) was derived from the depot’s own function. An anonymous industrial building was marginally changed. It was coloured anthracite and received a new façade with a 40 meter long glazed shelf in front of the building. Exhibits weighing up to 11 tons are hung here, following the principal of a Wunderkammer – a seemingly random accumulation of objects - and the façade therefore reflects the museum inside.

The Schaulager takes up three-quarters of the building’s area. The remaining area, located on an additional mezzanine level, is partitioned into a training and research area as well as a permanent exhibition about film and film production.

Fondazione Museo dell’Industria e del Lavoro, Brescia