In many respects, the task of designing a documentation and exhibition center on the history of Americans in Rhineland-Palatinate requires the development of a prototypical building for which there are no structural references. It would be wrong to regard the building as a classic museum that presents valuable exhibits in as neutral a shell and sacred form as possible. Nor are the numerous documentation centers, which strive to come to terms with Germany's past with a serious attitude, any good as a reference. We set out to find a new, lively type of building that could meet the requirements of the building task. Our aim was to provide a flexible setting for the very diverse exhibits and at the same time to give the building an unmistakable appearance, both inside and out, that would stick in visitors' memories. We were not looking for a neutral shell, but a place whose independent character would emerge directly from the building task.