Fastnachtsmuseum: everything on the construction site is going according to plan
"Thank goodness we have the most difficult phase behind us", says karl-heinz schmidt. "Now it's possible to build upwards at high speed." The architect sits on a bench in the gewolbekeller with bernhard schlereth, president of the franken carnival association, as they take stock of the situation. Construction workers normally take a break here. There are sandwiches, newspapers and thermos flasks on the table. Everything still untouched, because now the manner is still working. That's what you get when the doors are closed. It is called, it is said, it is drilled. Everything for the new carnival museum.
The museum was previously housed in the falterturm – but it no longer complies with fire safety regulations. The tower had to be rebuilt. The landmark of kitzingen had changed its face significantly. But no one wanted that, so it was clear: a new location for the museum had to be found. Luitpoldstrabe 4, rosenstrabe 8 and 10 are being rebuilt for this purpose.
Exhibition in the rosenstrabe
The buror rooms in rosenstrabe 10 make way for exhibition spaces. The office moves to luitpoldstrabe 4 instead. The upper floor already houses desks, filing cabinets and the museum's accounting department. This first construction phase is as good as finished. The furnishings are still missing, but that should also be done soon. The craftsmen will be here in two weeks.
While construction work is being completed at one location, work is already beginning on the interior at another. Since there is no waiting for the entire shell to be finished and all the masonry work to be completed, time is saved. "We're getting ahead of ourselves and pushing the masons ahead of us", schmidt calls this procedure.
So far, the schedule has been adhered to, despite interruptions in november due to bad weather. So a finished carnival museum in november 2013 is a realistic goal. "In contrast to the airport in berlin, we are well on schedule," says schmidt, jokes the architect. The costs also look good. So far the framework has been respected. The cellar area could be grouted. "This not only increases the costs, but also the benefits", bernhard schlereth reassures skeptics. "The builder will not be sad if he gets more use out of it."
Work on the second section, rosenstrabe 8, is also well advanced. Soon the ceiling for the first floor will be concreted. The shell of section number 3, the connection of rosenstrabe and luitpoldstrabe, is also almost finished.
The major problems have already been overcome. One of these was the securing of the neighboring buildings. If one had simply worked on the spot, excavating the earth that supports the adjacent houses, the neighboring buildings would have been endangered. To avoid this, it was necessary to proceed very carefully, according to plan, stucco by stucco. Concrete pillars and prefabricated elements are used to hold the earth in place under the neighboring houses. So this danger has been averted, albeit with considerable delay, but there was not enough room for the other alternative, bored piles.
Soil was examined
Another hurdle were the regulations of the monument protection authority. The declared a part of kitzingen a soil monument. The construction work on the carnival museum was affected by this. "We were probably the first to be affected by it", schmidt assumes. Before construction work could begin, the soil had to be examined. The work was very precise and careful, much of it was dug by hand.
That took time – and cost. Karl-heinz schmidt estimates the financial outlay at around 30,000 euros for the soil investigation alone. The result was rather dubious considering the size of the building. A plastic bag of broken glass. Nothing more. "This documents that there is nothing of historical value in the subsoil of the construction site", states schmidt. Schlereth takes it with humor: "then we just have a tute kitzinger city history." On the other hand, they can be glad that nothing more was found, otherwise there would have been further investigations that could have taken half a year.
The next challenge was the high difference between the two. From the main entrance of the museum in luitpoldstrabe to the rooms in rosenstrabe is a distance of three to four meters. How will it become a handicapped accessible building?? Two solutions were found: firstly, the different floor heights were standardized as far as possible. On the other hand, an elevator is planned. It stops at seven different places. This means that wheelchair users can also get from the exhibition rooms to the archives without any problems. A handicapped toilet is also foreseen.
Schmidt and schlereth can be more than satisfied with the progress of the construction work so far. The first rough construction phase, the building at luitpoldstrabe 4, is as good as finished. The operations office has already moved in. The only thing missing is the interior design. Masonry and structural work should be completely finished by the end of february, mid march.
Hope for better weather
The interior construction workers are already there and planning. "Everything goes hand in hand, schmidt notes with satisfaction and is pleased about the "continuous construction work". Nothing stands in the way of this work. "The problem trap is behind us", woman the architect. "But it also required flexibility, time and meetings", adds schlereth.
Only the weather worries the two, as they report on the progress of the construction work. It is cold. From minus five degrees, the construction work is no longer acceptable for the craftsmen. Work safety was no longer guaranteed. Consequently, there was a temporary standstill. This has already happened once, last year in november, and is the last thing schmidt and schlereth need.
Slowly more and more snow falls on the gray concrete ground. Womoglich it comes to frost and slippery. Work accidents are inevitable. "If it keeps snowing like this, what we have planned for the next time won't work out", fears karl-heinz schmidt. He and bernhard schlereth have no choice but to hope for better weather.
