The construction has finally begun on the €9.5 million (£7.4 million) “Musuem unter Tage” in the German city of Bochum, after 20 years of planning, Der Westen reports. The 1,900-square-metre museum space is being built seven meters (23 feet) under Bochum’s Weitmarer Schlosspark. From the surface, the space will be recognisable from above ground only by three entrances and one emergency exit.
“A staircase will lead to an underground hall from where visitors will be able to discover the artworks in three separate rooms,” Andreas Schindler of the Bochum-based architectural firm Vervoorts & Schindler explained to the press.
The Museum unter Tage was originally conceived in 1991 by the gallerist Alexander von Berswordt-Wallrabe. A descendent of the aristocratic family that once owned the land, the gallerist founded the Kunst Museum in honour of Dr. Max Imdahl, who was the founding professor of the Art History Institute at the Ruhr University, Bochum.
Then in 2006, the construction of the first space was completed. The addition of a further building, a glass cube built within the ruins of the estate’s main structure was added in 2010 The underground Museum unter Tage is the third and final phase of the complete art Museum as envisioned by its founder.
The new space will primarily show landscape painting from the 17th century to contemporary works of art. Some works will be relocated to the underground facility including paintings by the Dutch artist Joos de Momper. The curator of the new art space Maria Schulte also revealed that there “Will also be video and sound art, as well as special exhibitions.” The museum is scheduled to open in November 2015.