Red Dot Design Museum

Contemporary product culture amid historic industrial architecture: with more than 2,000 exhibits, the Red Dot Design Museum presents the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary design. Here, the quality of good design can be experienced up close, as visitors are allowed to touch and try out many of the exhibits. In 2019, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung named the Red Dot Design Museum one of the world’s eight best design museums.

When the mine was in operation, the former boiler house served as the energy centre of the Zollverein Coal Mine. Steam for the compressors was generated in five travelling-grate boilers. From 1992 to 1996, the three-aisled building complex was renovated and converted according to plans by Norman Foster, in collaboration with the Böll und Krabel firm.