Museum, Science Center and Public Meeting Place, Mannheim buildings, Germany architecture images

Museum, Science Center & Public Meeting Place in Mannheim

18 March 2026

Design: HENN

Location: Forum Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, Germany

Museum Science Center and Public Meeting Place Mannheim

image courtesy of HENN

Museum, Science Center & Public Meeting Place, Germany

With a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony and the laying of the foundation stone, construction officially began on March 18, 2026, for the Forum Deutsche Sprache (German Language Forum) in Mannheim. HENN’s design for the new building was selected as the winning entry in an architectural competition in 2021. Completion is planned for 2028.

Museum Science Center and Public Meeting Place Mannheim Germany

Designed as part museum, part science center, the Forum Deutsche Sprache in Mannheim is a unique building where science and society engage in dialogue. The Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache (Leibniz Institute for the German Language) will use it as an exhibition space and interactive research facility. It creates a public meeting place where interactive presentations, discussions, and ongoing research allow visitors to experience the nature of language, its omnipresence and diversity.

The new build, endowed by Klaus Tschira Stiftung, creates an open forum, a floating space between inside and outside – lobby and Meßplatz square – that provides a place where visitors, employees, and people from the neighborhood come together.

Museum Science Center and Public Meeting Place Germany building

At the foundation stone ceremony, Christian Specht, Mayor of Mannheim, said:
“Right in the heart of Mannheim, at the intersection between Neckarstadt and downtown, the Forum Deutsche Sprache is taking shape as a place dedicated not only to our language, but to democratic exchange, dialogue, and social diversity.”

Museum, Science Center & Public Meeting Place in Mannheim building model

Prof. Dr. Henning Lobin, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute for the German Language, commented:
“We need the Forum Deutsche Sprache now more than ever, because language, and understanding its impact, are essential to keeping a society together, especially in times of rapid technological change.”

Fredrik Werner, responsible Partner at HENN, added:
“The distinctive look of the new building is defined by its layered façade, symbolizing the complexity of language. It features a transparent outer shell of ETFE film that wraps around the structure and protects the wooden elements beneath.”

Museum Science Center and Public Meeting Place Germany

Museum, Science Center & Public Meeting Place in Mannheim, Germany – Building Information

Architecture HENN – https://www.henn.com/
Location Mannheim, Germany
Completion 2028
Gross floor area 3,700 sqm
Program Exhibition space, offices, event hall, seminar rooms, picnic area, roof terrace

Exhibition design Atelier Brückner
Client Klaus Tschira Stiftung gGmbH
User Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache

HENN

Museum, Science Center and Public Meeting Place, Mannheim building images / information received 180326

Location: Mannheim, Germany, western Europe.

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