Refurbishment of the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany

Fred Romero from Paris, France / CC BY

Lead

International Maritime Museum in Hamburg (IMMH)

Main hazard(s)

Extreme temperatures, Extreme precipitation, Floods

Disaster Risk Management phase(s)

Pre-disaster

Type(s) of measure(s)

Technological/Technical

Structural measures

Background

The aim of the initiative was to transform in 2006 a 10-storey historic brick warehouse into the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg (IMMH), ensuring that the requirements needed to hold its exhibits were met. The refurbishment included the integration of a new heating system and a domestic engineering system to create an appropriate climate in the building based on a low-energy consumption. Both the engineering system and an engine for an elevator were installed in the basement.

The basement had been flooded on different occasions prior to the refurbishment, so measures were implemented to make it waterproof. A new layer of concrete was installed in the inner side of the original brick wall of the basement and the ceiling. Additional concrete was also added to prevent the uplifting of the structure. The historic window frames were kept, and slit deliberately to ensure the warming of the cold air from the outside when flowing indoors. In combination with this last measure, a floor-heating system was integrated in the new ground floor to provide an adequate temperature for the collections

Sources

For more information on the museum, visit: https://www.imm-hamburg.de/?lang=en

This initiative is featured in the Co2olBricks Project (2010-2013), focusing on how to reduce the energy consumption of historical buildings without destroying their cultural value and identity.

For more information on the Co2olBricks, visit: http://www.co2olbricks.eu/