The city government decided to rebuild the destroyed library, however, awarding the contract to local architect Christoph Mäckler. In 2003, therefore, after 16 years and more than 100 exhibitions, Portikus moved into the ground floor of the historical building known as the Leinwandhaus. This temporary location was designed with the artist Tobias Rehberger. Rehberger developed a spatial concept that, through the introduction of various modular elements such as platforms and boxes, allowed the integration of the gallery, office, reading area, and storage spaces into a large and rustic hall. In collaboration with the Zumtobel Staff, the artist Olafur Eliasson designed the lighting of the exhibition space. Until the beginning of 2006, the exhibition program operated in this space under the name "Portikus im Leinwandhaus".
