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Maritime Adventure World Papenburg

With the Maritime Adventure World, DIA – Dittel Architekten designed and implemented a unique tourist experience in the center of the city of Papenburg. The interactive exhibition explores the city’s history as a trading and shipbuilding hub from its foundation until the start of cruise ship construction in the form of an exciting and immersive experience. The aim here is not just to showcase chronological events from the city’s history in the context of world politics, but also to demonstrate the processes and techniques involved in the making of ships from wood and steel and to depict how ordinary Papenburg citizens lived and worked at the turn of the century. The new additions to the facade of the historically listed ‘Zeitspeicher’ building are a perfect exterior complement to the carefully crafted interior space concept.

A link between old and new construction methods

The existing structure is composed of the solid-masonry ‘Zeitspeicher’ building and its open wooden beam ceilings. This historically listed building – which had to be preserved – is predominantly characterized by the use of old construction methods. At the same time, it features a link to the wooden construction of the ships and the exhibition theme of the 1st floor. On the other hand, modern steel and glass combinations stand for new construction technologies, which are superimposed on the listed clinker brick building. Here, we also have a discernible link to the modern, steel-based construction of ships and hence, to the exhibition theme on the second floor.

Technical and organic elements in an exciting contrast

The link to shipbuilding, which is associated with separate, successive work steps and represents a central element of Papenburg’s history, is transposed into the architectural design in the form of ‘lines’ and ‘axes’. In the Zeitspeicher building itself, a slatted structure leads to the centerpiece of the exhibition – analogously, the slats of the building entrance lead the visitor into the museum interior and in this way serve as a connection between the exterior and the interior.

The underlying concept of the exhibition designed by DIA DITTEL ARCHITEKTEN in cooperation with the 7Places innovation agency is all about inviting visitors to embark on a learning journey that presents information and stories – accompanied by clear guidelines and exciting storytelling – and gives visitors a comprehensive experience of the ‘Papenburg home port’. Modern elements such as augmented reality, gamification and an interactive app with QR code logic are digital core elements of the journey and offer visitors the opportunity to preserve their memories of areas that are of interest to them. The identity of Papenburg is transferred into space through analog and digital exhibits and the city's history is presented in a modern architectural language.

The beginning of a multifaceted journey

The maritime adventure world in the Zeitspeicher building extends over three floors. The presented thematic worlds weave through the maritime chronology of Papenburg and invite visitors to discover wooden and steel shipbuilding in the course of an interactive journey.

As soon as visitors enter the adventure world on the ground floor of the Zeitspeicher, they perceive both Papenburg’s pioneering spirit and its multifaceted nature, as well as how the identity of this location is deeply rooted in shipbuilding. An ‘Interactive Table’ serves as the first port of call for visitor orientation and discovery tour planning. Visitors understand that they can learn, save information and collect stories using QR code logic, the Papenburg app and recurring narrators. Contact persons and further information on the exhibition and the city of Papenburg are available at the adjacent Tourist Information Counter. Visitors immerse themselves in the chronological history of the city by walking alongside carefully staged original items and elaborate replicas in modern exhibition displays before making their way to the Explorer Shipyard on the upper floors.

Steel – the material used by pioneers

The main theme of the exhibition section on the second floor is revealed upon entering through a floor-to-ceiling, fanning-out gesture that symbolizes steel shipbuilding and leads visitors towards the exhibition. Here, atmospheric staging and graphics in the room are used to illustrate the reasons for the victory of the steel ship. A playful presentation teaches visitors about the advantages of the new material by letting them race a wooden ship and a steel ship against each other. The learning journey continues by taking a closer look at steel and iron shipbuilding using interactive elements with a passion for technology. The centerpiece of the exhibition in the middle of the room accompanies visitors on this floor as well and stirs up emotions by presenting real Papenburg stories, ships, objects, people and shipyards. At the end of their visit, visitors can have their digital ships – which have accompanied them from the very beginning – enter a destination port of their choice.

The balanced design of content and media makes visiting the Maritime Adventure World an exciting and immersive experience for all age groups that can be enjoyed with all senses and that will certainly be remembered