Contemporary history: modernity meets tradition

Here, visitors breathe in contemporary history in the truest sense of the word – the Junghans Terrassenbau Museum in Schramberg showcases the history of Black Forest clocks and of the company Junghans, one of the most famous German watch brands today. The museum building itself is a significant part of it. After its completion in 1918, millions of timepieces were produced until the 1970s in the unique industrial building on a hillside, a perfect setting for a clock museum. However, the building designed by the industrial architect Philipp Jakob Manz had to be renovated and modernised for two years according to historical monument conservation regulations. Where the employees' canteen used to be is where the journey through time now begins. An entrance system from Wanzl Access Solutions ensures smooth access. 

The Terrassenbau sits impressively on the steep slope of the Geißhalde. When it was built at the beginning of the 20th century, Junghans was the world's largest watch manufacturer and its production facility in the Black Forest was a symbol of efficiency, progress and simple elegance. The new reception area also meets this requirement. "During the restoration of the main building, we paid attention to every detail of the provisions for the protection of historic sites in order to make the unique atmosphere of the Junghans Terrassenbau tangible and to preserve its structure. The entrance area with the newly constructed foyer was, in contrast, deliberately modern and  technologically state-of-the-art. As a result, we have created a link between the innovations of the present and the past," explains engineer Arkas Förstner (FH/Interior Design). With his company "fön,design", he designed large parts of the Junghans Terrassenbau Museum and was responsible for its implementation as the project manager. In the reception area he focused on a modern and, above all, bright design. He thus continued the tradition of Philipp Jakob Manz's building architecture. After all, the light-filled workplaces in the terraces are the striking hallmarks of the building. The products in the foyer were selected to reflect this: "The theme of design was a key decisive factor. We designed the entrance area with very high-quality, genuine wood elements and porcelain stoneware tiles. A special eye-catcher is our automatic ticket machine, which we installed flush into the room interior. It looks like an oversized smartphone and is in line with the aesthetics of our time," says Arkas Förstner. With its opening in June 2018, he also took over the management of the museum, exactly 100 years after the initial commissioning of the building. At that time, workers had to climb the stairs all the way to the ninth and uppermost storey of the factory, which was 21 metres high. Nowadays, a cable-stayed elevator on the outside takes the guests to the top floor, the starting point of the exhibition.