Museum of Natural History (Naturkunde Museum)

RAA won the competition to redesign the Evolution and Ocean Halls for the Rosenstein Museum of the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart. RAA redesigned the two main halls located in the former inner courtyards of the Rosenstein Castle. Both halls are dedicated to two central thematic complexes of biology, “Evolution” and “Biodiversity.” The new exhibition visualizes the diversity of life and contributes to the understanding and appreciation of biodiversity, providing an overview of the most important forms of maritime life and explaining evolutionary processes. Most importantly, it inspires amazement in visitors. The new exhibits are driven by the most up-to-date scientific knowledge and the application of modern exhibition techniques, including emotionally stirring immersive environments, playful interactivity, and intuitive hands-on exploration of these complex subjects. The design respects the history of the landmarked building as well as historically important specimens from the museum’s centuries-old collections. 



Both halls are characterized by unique, large-scale objects that are the protagonists of the exhibition. The Ocean Hall is dominated by a 13-meter-long model of a female sei whale; the Evolution Hall includes the taxidermy of an African elephant bull as well as the skeleton of a European forest elephant from 100,000 years ago. 



RAA's Ocean Hall design reinforces the pre-existing theme of an underwater "experience space." The blue darkening of the room, water movements visible over large areas on the new acoustic ceiling, suspended models and taxidermy of marine and coastal animals, the large diorama of a coral reef, a black smoker, and a full wall graphic with marine scenes all contributed to achieving an immersive experience.



The Evolution Hall explores evolutionary relationships and processes. An interactive media table stands in the center of the room, around which six thematic islands are grouped. Throughout the hall, large-format primate-like vitrines host real life-size taxidermy specimens, and via a long mediation belt constellated by interactives, infographics, and hands-on objects, the exhibit manages to highlight aspects of evolutionary processes and humans' influence on them.