Above: The new Ackerhof extension at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France

One of my favorite small museums in Europe stands hidden in plain sight, fronting a leafy square in the exquisite little city of Colmar. The Unterlinden Museum has long ranked among Alsace’s greatest cultural jewels, a status only enhanced by its elegant expansion in 2015. Acclaimed architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron (designers of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium and London’s Tate Modern) vastly increased the museum’s square footage and created a new public space in the city. The design turned what had been a bus station and parking lot into an inviting square, partially bisected by the reopened Sinn Canal.

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Above: The new Ackerhof extension at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France

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