De Meuron Research Articles

The Cultural Scope of Chromatic Spaces - The Building of the ICMC/IKMZ Cottbus

The ICMC/IKMZ-Building was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and finished, after a three year construction phase, in November 2004; it is a 32 meter high reinforced concrete construction covered by a double-shell, glass facade embossed with stylized graffiti. The ground plan of the building has a curved outline resembling a clover leaf which does not explicitly have front and back sides. The amazing external architecture continues internally with a spiral staircase extending from the 1st to the 6th floor, and a striking colour scheme (in vibrant yellow, green, magenta, red, and blue) for parts of the floor covering and walls. In addition a further characteristic of the building is that within the ground plan none of the floor plans are the same. With the exception of the management and business areas (7th floor) and the technical and pool areas (1st and 2nd underground level) there are only a few truly separate areas. This allows a flexible and open concept for the use of the building which consciously allows for many work and communication forms for single users or user groups. The work and reading areas are in coves related to each of the floors, while the open access stacks of the library - floor related - arranged according to subject areas are located in the core of the building.

Power Station for Art vs. Art for Power Station

Like ants, visitors amble across a gigantic hall, cross under an iron insect, are carried up on escalators, move through halls and small rooms, and finally arrive at a glass-encased body, from which a grandiose vista offers itself.Tate Modern—London. A former power station on the south bank of the Thames, originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of the cathedral of Liverpool, which was at the time of its inauguration in the early 1960s an architectural as well as a technological anachronism. Freed from its original purpose in 1981, the gigantic brick structure stood abandoned in the center of London, across from St. Paul's Cathedral, and was finally chosen as a building suitable to house the Collection of International Modernity of the Tate Gallery. After reconstruction by the Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, Tate Modern opened in May 2000 and offers a total area of 34,000 square meters space for art, of which 14,000 are reserved for the collection. Here, a museum has been created whose true attraction is the building itself.

Erweiterungsbau der Hochschulbibliothek der Fachhochschule Eberswalde

The extension of the library of the University of Applied Sciences in Eberswalde was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The building is a cubus with a very unusual facade. The artist Thomas Ruff created the concrete and glass facade with different photos. There is a special dialogue between the architecture of the building, the books and the work of art. The building recently receised the Architectural Award of Brandenburg 1999.

Imagining the future of the Museum of Modern Art

In December 1997, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, chose as architect for its ambitious expansion program Yoshio Taniguchi, designer of several admired museums in his native Japan. This project has been a focus of international attention within the worlds of art, architecture, and design. Presented here is a detailed study of this example of institutional decision-making in a context of great practical and aesthetic complexity.The museum was determined that its new facility be an imaginative response to the challenge of its complex urban site as well as an architectural landmark for the 21st century. The process is documented here in an overview by the museum's director, Glenn D. Lowry, and in transcripts of conferences and lectures involving museum directors, curators, critics, artists, and architects.The preliminary proposals of 10 invited architects are illustrated, with an expanded summary of those of the three finalists, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Bernard Tschumi, and Taniguchi.

Main Reviews

Picasso Project —‘Surrealism 1930–1936’— March 1998 Picasso’s Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculpture: Surrealism 1930–1936 Paul Crowther, The Language of Twentieth‐Century ArtDelia Gaze (ed), Dictionary of Women ArtistsDavid Ekserdjian, CorreggioChristopher Benfey, Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington CableHenry Maguire, The Icons of their Bodies: Saints and their Images in ByzantiumThomas Dale, Relics, Prayer and Politics in Medieval Venetia: Romanesque Painting in the Crypt of Aquileia CathedralTristan Tzara and Hans Arp, Cinema Calendar of the Abstract Heart. HousesJames Lord, A Gift for Admiration: Further MemoirsCoosje van Bruggen, Frank O Gehry: Guggenheim Museum, BilbaoGerhard Mack, Herzog and de Meuron: The Complete Works: Vol 1 1978–1988. Vol 2 1989–1991Anne Baldassari, Picasso and Photography: The Dark MirrorJames R Ryan, Picturing Empire: Photography and the Visualization of the British EmpireChristopher Pinney, Camera Indica: The Social Life of Indian PhotographsMaria Morris Hambourg, Paul Strand Circa 1916Malcolm Holzman, Bruce Goff: 3 HousesCathy Courtney (ed), Jocelyn Herbert: A Theatre WorkbookSylvia Backemeyer (ed), Ralph Koltai: Designer for the StageStephen A Martin (ed), Archibald KnoxFrançoise Piponnier and Perrine Mane, Dress in the Middle Ages

The Hidden and the Apparent: Comments on the Work of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron

The Hidden and the Apparent: Comments on the Work of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron

Swiss regiments in british service: Regiment de Meuron

Swiss regiments in british service: Regiment de Meuron

Swiss regiments in British service: Regiment de Meuron

Swiss regiments in British service: Regiment de Meuron