Artist group Observatorium built half a dozen entrance pavilions for the UNESCO Zeche Zollverein, a former coal mine in Essen, Germany. These can be described as sculptural ‘porter’s lodges’, which eases the transition to the overwhelming scale of the mining complex for visitors. With their clean lines and simple design the pavilions conform to their surroundings while retaining their ‘human dimension’.

Observatorium designed six pavilions through which the visitors are gently guided to the former coal-mine Zeche Zollverein in Essen, Germany. In what looks like a ‘porter’s lodge’, a host or hostess is waiting to show visitors the way. The conspicuous colour pattern in the concrete, which is reminiscent of the coalmine, is the result of a special casting technique.