Giant metal loaf tops wild ‘House of Bread’

The latest building from Vienna-based architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l)au is a deliciously shaped ode to bread. The Paneum (House of Bread) is a museum entirely dedicated to showcasing the material culture of baked goods from buns to baguettes—including its tools, art, toys, and books. And the designers at Coop Himmelb(l)au took that to heart.

The building’s concrete-and-glass base is topped with a wildly whimsical metal-clad loaf. Serving as the main exhibition space holding some 1,200 objects covering a 9,000-year history, this curvy room was nicknamed by the architects the “Wunderkammer des Brotes” or “Wonder chamber of the bread.”

And wonderful it is. A spiral staircase winds its way through the center of the bulbous building, almost like a smaller, bread-obsessed take on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum.

“The design of the exhibition area is based on the idea of a cabinet of curiosities, a concept for collections originating in the Baroque period,” reads the architects’ project statement. “This concept is especially appropriate for the unusual and small-scale objects in the collection related to the topic ‘bread’ which are presented in the exhibition area.”

There are two main exhibition levels within the steel-clad loaf, and visitors are able to see its CNC-milled wooden structure. A consistent materials palette of concrete, wood, and glass creates a cohesive backdrop for the exhibition. Below, the orthogonal first floor—the breadbox?—contains a foyer and event space.

Via: New Atlas