A breakthrough for the Museum Selma in Cologne-Kalk: Here's what's next

An important step toward the creation of the Museum Selma: At a roundtable discussion with all stakeholders in the construction project, our sponsoring organization DOMiD presented an initial conceptual framework outlining a possible implementation at the Hall 70 site. All participants are in favor of continuing to build the museum there.

The mayor of Cologne, where the Museum Selma is being built, kindly invited everyone to the roundtable to discuss the museum’s future. Together with funding partners from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and representatives from politics and administration, the groundwork was laid to get the Museum Selma off the ground at the Hall 70 site in Cologne-Kalk. 

A new approach to implementation

For weeks, our sponsoring organization DOMiD has been closely examining the possibility of realizing the Museum Selma at its originally planned location by making significant cuts to the floor plan. An alternative location had previously been considered, but could not be pursued due to massive project risks. The background to this is the rise in construction costs due to inflation and renovation expenses.

The approach being pursued by our sponsor, DOMiD, envisions implementing the museum on 60 percent of the originally planned floor area. This assessment is based on initial planning considerations and a rough calculation. Legal reviews are still pending.

60 percent to start with. Expansion possible

This new approach involves thinking in terms of construction phases. The first step will therefore be to renovate and expand 60 percent of the hall. The remaining 40 percent is to be preserved as a dry hall, which will be secured in places as needed.

Should funds become available in the future, additional sections within this 40 percent could then be renovated, and the museum subsequently expanded.

This approach of using 60 percent of the planned area entails significant changes to the museum’s spatial program. These reductions will make it possible to realize the museum within the existing construction budget in Hall 70—subject to legal reviews.

The core of the museum will remain largely intact: the exhibition. Based on the unique collection of historical migration artifacts, it enriches German history by incorporating the perspectives of migration and finally gives space to viewpoints that have been far too rarely heard.

In this way, the museum can continue to serve as a central place of belonging for people with their own or their family’s migration history—a place of encounter, exchange, and engagement with questions of democratic coexistence. 

Widespread support for the solution

Future planning will reveal the additional impacts that the reduction in floor space will have on individual areas. Once the legal reviews are complete, DOMiD, as the project developer, can apply to the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for planning funds from the available grants. With this support, the redesign of the Museum Selma to occupy 60 percent of the original floor space can then begin.

There is broad consensus among all parties involved regarding this approach. We thank the mayor for the initiative, as well as the representatives from politics and administration at the municipal, state, and federal levels for the constructive dialogue and clear support of the project.

The primary goal of the project owner, DOMiD, is to complete the redesign of the Museum Selma for 60 percent of the space on schedule this year. In parallel, a secondary goal is to seek an extension of the deadline for federal funding as a safeguard.