From the Ernst Leitz Museum to the interactive experience of photography

The Leitz-Park Campus, since 2014 the headquarters of the long-established Leica Camera AG, already offers all Leica enthusiasts and those who want to become one an attractive place of inspiration. In addition to the manufactory, the Leica Gallery, the Leica Store and Classic Store, the Leica Academy and a hotel on the campus, the Ernst Leitz Museum provides insights into the world of modern photography. We are designing the new permanent exhibition and adding another attraction to the Leitz-Park: The intriguing history of the company founded in 1849, which has been run by the Leitz family for generations, as well as the fascination of photography can be experienced here in the future – playfully, interactively and vividly.

From photography to room concept

The principle of the viewfinder frame translates as design into the exhibition. Large metal frames in black, brass and copper elegantly frame the room elements. Transparent lattice structures create lightness and offer exciting insights. The straight-lined design language and the concentration on the colours black, white and red create a clear and stylish spatial impression. Spatially separated cabinets provide experience spaces and invite to photographic experimentation.

Anamorphosis in the entrance area of the Ernst Leitz Museum: the right picture only emerges when viewed from a certain angle.

The eye learns to listen

‘The eye should learn to listen before it looks’ – the quote by the famous photographer and cameraman Robert Frank is the inspiration for our beginning about the seeing and perceiving. An impressive kinetic aperture opens and closes in the large panorama window when visitors approach it. The mood in the room changes gently. Rotating frames invite visitors to try out different image formats, filters and design principles live and sensitise them to the photographic vision.

A huge kinetic aperture reacts to the visitors.

‘I hereby decide: we will take the risk‘

With this sentence and the decision to produce the first 35 mm camera in 1924, Ernst Leitz II went down in company history. Leitz and Camera soon became the famous acronym ‘Leica’. In this area, visitors immerse themselves in technology and history, get to know people and milestones of technical innovations. The Leica Archive opens up to interested eyes: Through a window, visitors can see a selection of highlight objects. An interactive digital layer offers in-depth information on the history and background. The click memory makes it clear that Leica is not just about seeing. Visitors can match camera models with their sounds. An interactive table in a darkroom also illustrates the individual steps of the analogue photo development in digital way.

Snapshots

Light and shadow, lighting moods, portraits or fast movements – in photography it’s all about the moment. In the area of photography, it is now up to you to find the right moment. Imaginatively designed stages create ever new situations to discover optical phenomena of the photographic image in a very practical way, as a photographer or as a model. Wind, movement, light and reflections create special motifs and opportunities for experimentation. With integrated Leica cameras or your own mobile phone, unforgettable photographs are taken.