The German Year in Mexico aimed for a balancing act: to portray Germany as a country quietly brimming with tradition in the fine arts – but also to reinforce its modern image as an innovative nation. And yet another challenge awaited: converted containers, those cold transport vehicles made of steel, were to be made inviting, exuding warmth and generous hospitality.

Elements of tradition and history break through the modern image with gentle power, using light, reflections and shadows. The popup information containers allow the viewer a glimpse of a birch forest. The combination of timeless trees with technically up-to-date touch-screens allows traditional images to break through into modernism. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors extend the little forest optically – apparently infinitely, far back into German history. This is a space for lingering and discovery. The entertainment container works like a beating heart of tradition in a modern guise. Highlights of German cultural history shine through, ranging all the way to our present times. Lamps and even the shadows they throw point to German tradition, while state-of-the-art projection technology makes all kinds of events possible.