Archaeological Pavilion

German studio Kadawittfeldarchitektur completed a pavilion designed as one of the five “archaeological windows” of the city of Aachen.

The uniqueness of the archaeological site in the Elisengarten park lies in its layering of different settlement structures from various eras of Aachen city history.

This extraordinary historical strata is mirrored in the concept of the pavilion’s shell: the outside shell consists of two layers of diagonally overlapping stainless steel profiles. The space between this open shell and the actual glass housing of the archaeological site invites the visitor to wander off the park paths and discover the archaeological finds. The transparent and reduced construction correlates not only to the building requirements of the excavation site but also to the climatic challenges of the site.

Top and above: Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner

It enables also an attentive integration of the building into one of the most popular parks in Aachen. The pavilion blends in with the row of archaeological windows and provides a further highlight to the Charlemagne Route in conveying visibility to the historic routes of the city of Aachen by means of a very specific constructional intervention.

Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jörg Hempel
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jörg Hempel
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jörg Hempel
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jörg Hempel
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jens Kirchner
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Photo Jörg Hempel
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Plan
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Elevations
Kadawittfeldarchitektur, Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany. Siteplan


Archaeological Pavilion, Elisengarten, Aachen, Germany
Program: pavilion
Area: 590 sqm
Architects: Kadawittfeldarchitektur
Engineering: GmbH
Project Management: Benjamin Beckers, Jonas Kröber 
Project Partner: Dirk Zweering
Client: City of Aachen with the support of DSA
Completion: 2013