Meeting place, coworking space and future lab

The new Collections Centre spans 10,000 square metres and is home to workstations, workshops, restoration laboratories and a storage facility for the vast archaeological collection. The work area is not just for staff – researchers, students and cultural professionals are welcome to use the space by appointment. Rooms are also available for specialist conferences. Both the Collections Centre and the archaeological storage facilities can be visited on guided tours.

The building is constructed on a levelling foundation layer above the existing ruins of the Roman town. It has a steel-framed, spatially adjustable system that can be modified and expanded to accommodate different workstations and storage facilities for artefacts. The open-plan layout lends itself to a variety of spatial and functional configurations, from small research rooms to event spaces and the huge archaeological depot. Combined with double-height spaces, it creates a cohesive identity for an institution that now has its own dedicated home for the first time.

When the Roman Museum opened in 1957, the Augusta Raurica collection comprised 44,000 artefacts. Today, the collection has grown to two million artefacts and is one of the best-documented collections of Roman finds worldwide. One of Augusta Raurica’s core missions is safeguarding, preserving and researching these finds. The Collections Centre now enables efficient, resource-saving and cost-effective workflows.

The new archaeological depot ensures optimal conditions for storing the historical objects. Climate cabinets and artefact storage boxes specially made for Augusta Raurica ensure the ideal humidity for each artefact type. This "box-in-box-in-box system" also proved useful during the relocation process.

In addition to the archaeological artefacts, the Augusta Raurica collection includes an archive with over 110,000 photographs, drawings and diaries from the 19th century and a specialist library with 15,000 volumes.

The library and archive are open to the public by appointment. Workstations are available for researchers, students and cultural professionals. Rooms can be reserved for symposia.

In Roman times, the area around the East Gate was full of craftsmen and traders with a major road leading through it to the town centre. Much of this area has only been superficially excavated and documented, with most of the information coming from aerial photographs and georadar surveys. In modern times, this area has been mainly used for agriculture.

Once the Schwarzacker site was chosen for the Collections Centre, the archaeological finds still in the ground had to be protected. A raised embankment and a concrete base plate preserved the Roman layers and enabled new construction.