The challenge of the smac | State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz was to combine a heritage protected department store with the new tasks of a museum. Three stories have been dedicated to be exhibition floors, presenting time periods from early history up to the 19th century. The room narratives change consequently, becoming more and more structured. Curved panorama walls function as backdrops and transfer the shape of the façade into the exhibition. To underline the vertical connection of the exhibition floors, two highlights have been invented: a kinetic sculpture in the centre of the building and a stratigraphic diorama in the staircase.