2020-09-30
Construction work, as at 30 September 2020
Jasmin Veigel, 38, as the project manager in property supervision, ensures proper progress is made on the construction site of the Reinhard Ernst Museum. The qualified interior designer is a member of the executive board at the Frankfurt company Schneider + Schumacher, which has designed and constructed among others the Westhafen Tower (also known as “Ribbed” due to its cider glass structure) and the underground extension of the Städel. We met Jasmin for an interview at her office.
Good morning, Jasmin Veigel, how is the construction work going?
Excellent. We’re currently on schedule and within budget.
Has the corona crisis had a negative impact on the construction progress?
No, on the contrary. Many of the building workers who work for us during the shell construction phase are from Eastern Europe. They didn’t want to risk the possibility of quarantine by holidaying in their home countries but preferred to work here instead. This is why we always have all the workers we need. Of course, we’re still adhering to the rest periods and all the additional hygiene regulations since the pandemic started.
So Covid-19 has not caused you any problems so far?
We have had to adapt to the situation of course. For example, we have coordinated with Fumihiko Maki’s design office in Tokyo entirely via video or email, as the staff at the Japanese office have been unable to travel to Wiesbaden since the outbreak of the virus pandemic and possible quarantine restrictions. Michel van Ackere, who is in charge of the museum building design, actually wanted to take on the facade selection here on site. Profiles and glass panes had to be discussed, and the colour of the glass was also especially important. Coordination was then done via photos. The selection of the natural stone façade was also carried out with the Maki office in Japan by remote communication; in Japan, they are of course precisely aware of the selected materials and they take care of every detail there – down to the door handles.
Where do we stand at present?
Half the shell construction phase has been completed. While the ceiling elements of the ground floor are now being completed at the front on Wilhelmstrasse, work is already underway on the first floor at the back. Every effort is being made from Monday to Saturday and a lot is happening in parallel. We assume that the entire shell will be up and ready on schedule in February 2021. Of the total nine service phases that a building normally undergoes, we are currently at phases 5 to 8 – implementation planning, tendering, awarding of contracts and property monitoring.
What exactly does your job involve?
I organise the work processes together with other staff members. We coordinate dates, monitor costs, clarify interactions between various trades and document the construction process. Many service providers are involved – structural engineers, building services, lighting and outdoor systems planners, to mention just a few. Every Tuesday, a major construction meeting takes place in the container conference room. This is where we discuss all the week’s pending activities. During the interior finishing work, the number of participants in these meetings will continue to grow. And of course, there are also challenges to be resolved, as no construction is completed without discrepancies. But the mood on the building site is good, everyone is working together in a committed and cooperative way. After all, they spend many months together in this place, so a good interpersonal atmosphere is important.
Our company develops the details in accordance with the design architects in Japan. As the regulations in Germany are in some ways different from those in Japan, we have to check all the ideas for how feasible they are. Cooperation with authorities, suppliers or the fire brigade would be difficult to manage from Asia – especially in corona times – which is why the client entrusted Schneider + Schumacher with this.
Is the client often on site as well?
Reinhard Ernst actually comes to the building site every day to see that everything is going OK. He does a tour of the site and has regular discussions with us if he has any questions. Mr Ernst is a discerning client. It’s clear that he has already been involved in several new construction projects and he has a lot of basic knowledge.
Have you also gained experience in building museums?
I’ve been a site manager now for eight years. Most recently, I was given the job of supervising the new construction of the German Romantic Museum in Frankfurt, which was designed by the architect Christoph Mäckler. My colleague was involved in the expansion of the Jewish Museum on the Museumsufer in Frankfurt, which was designed by Staab Architects in Berlin.
What do you think is so distinctive about the architecture of the new museum in Wiesbaden?
It is very straightforward and has wonderful clean lines. Alignments and stairways run in such a way that visitors encounter many interesting visual references – for example, they can look from the foyer up to the top floor. Fumihiko Maki is well known for creating a particular sense of space. Museum patrons will experience several surprise moments when they visit the museum. As such, the architecture doesn’t seek to dominate but adopts a rather restrained attitude in favour of the art, especially in the exhibition rooms. Everything about the museum involves very high-quality workmanship. The complex structural analysis should also be emphasised. Few walls stand on top of each other inside, and loads sometimes have to be distributed over long distances. Despite the amount of steel and concrete used, the architecture exerts a very light touch. The ceiling above the museum café on Wilhelmstrasse also appears to float in the air.
Among the building materials we saw racks with lots of black balls. What is that all about?
These black balls are made of plastic. They are placed in formwork and reinforcement and then concreted. This creates cavities that mean the weight of the ceilings is not excessive. With what are known as bubble ceilings, which were also used at the Elbphilharmonie, it is possible to save up to 190 litres of concrete and more than 450 kilograms of load per square metre. This means we can insert larger ceiling areas without supports.
Are you looking forward to seeing the art in this museum?
I have to admit I haven’t personally found abstract art accessible up to now. I’m more interested in representational, traditional art. But I’m very curious to experience the art in this museum and already look forward very much to walking around the finished building. But I will be able to admire one work of art long before the official opening.
What do you mean by that?
The presentation of a bronze sculpture by Tony Cragg is planned for the upper floor. And it’s so large and heavy that it has to be hoisted into the building by crane before the museum is finished. [Note by the online editorial team: you can find out more about this work of art here.]
