Stanislaus von Moos and Arthur Rüegg explore the architecture of Herzog & de Meuron. ‘Twenty-five x Herzog & de Meuron’, published by Steidl Verlag, explains individual buildings – selected case studies for the architects' concepts and design approach.
Text: Sandra Hofmeister
The theatre of Epidaurus, the rolling hills of Rickenbach near Basel, the Gothic vaulted ceiling of Reims Cathedral: Pierre de Meuron's photographs of cities and landscapes depict a wide variety of subjects. His images are observations taken in diverse locations around the world, which come together to form a collection of personal explorations. Places and streets, landscapes and moods are on display – their perception highlights relationships and references while simultaneously reflecting them back onto the perceiving subject. Systematically sorted according to recurring phenomena, the photos are printed in small and large formats on black pages. Pierre de Meuron's personal photo series as the entrée to ‘Fünfundzwanzig x Herzog de Meuron’ has its counterpart in Jacques Herzog's postcard collection at the end of the book – it is presented in the same way. Herzog's archive of visual messages shows views of Ronchamp and Venice, Teothiuacán in Mexico and Madaba in Jordan. But it is not only places that can be seen, but also motifs from art, from da Vinci to Velazquéz – mystery and tradition. As ‘image trophies’ (Arthur Rüegg), the postcards inspire the imagination and reflect an understanding of the world; in this sense, they are episteme that can be related to the architecture of Herzog & de Meuron. Both collections from the visual archive of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron – the photos and the postcards – are being published for the first time and are excerpts from a larger, previously untapped visual archive collection. Stanislaus von Moos and Arthur Rüegg have compiled a selection for their book and discuss their relationship to the architecture of Herzog & de Meuron in their essays.
Elbphilharmonie, photo: © Cordelia Ewerth, 2016
Archiving and publishing
In 2001, Basel architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were awarded the Pritzker Prize. Their firm has now completed around 600 buildings in over 40 countries and employs around 500 people from 40 countries in Switzerland, France, Germany, the USA and Hong Kong. The architects' comprehensive and multifaceted work has been published in countless books. Their own office monograph, published by Gerhard Mack at Prestel, currently comprises six volumes. Publishing, and even more so archiving and exhibiting, are firmly anchored in the DNA of Herzog & de Meuron. This is also evident in the building typology of the Schaulager, which Herzog & de Meuron first realised for the Laurenz Foundation near Basel and later took up again for the Schaudepot for the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. Ten years ago, they founded the Jacque Herzog & Pierre de Meuron Kabinett to archive their own work. The foundation for art, architecture and photography documents the architects' inspiration and processes – a kind of cultural archive based in Basel.
111 Lincoln Road, photoigraph: Rasmus Hjortshoj, 2016
Case studies instead of completeness
Given the wealth of publications on Herzog & de Meuron, what can a new monograph contribute? Quite a lot, as a reading of ‘Fünfundzwanzig x Herzog & de Meuron’ reveals. Stanislaus von Moos and Arthur Rüegg have selected a total of 25 buildings from the architects' portfolio for their book – without claiming to be exhaustive. Included are early projects such as the Frei photo studio in Weil am Rhein (1981–1982) and large-scale buildings such as the Olympic Stadium in Beijing (2002–2008), as well as, of course, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London (2022–2012). The 25 projects are typologically diverse, ranging from single-family homes to museums such as the extension of the Tate Modern in London, the Ricola warehouse in Laufen, Switzerland, and the gondola station to Chäserrugg in the canton of St. Gallen – a surprise project! Short texts describe the buildings and their design concepts, and the project photos are supplemented by additional illustrations, such as reference buildings or images from the construction process. Models, diagrams and plans are also included, albeit not to scale. All in all, this creates a carefully controlled overall impression that takes into account renovations, urban planning studies and exhibition concepts. Some aspects, such as the details of the technical refinements and the carbon footprint of the buildings presented, are not the focus of the authors. That may be old school, but perhaps it is simply material for another book on Herzog & de Meuron.
Wohnhaus entlang einer Brandmauer, photo: © Pierre de Meuron, 1988
The power of images
Art has accompanied the work of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from the very beginning, especially in the early years after the firm was founded in 1978. In his essay ‘Precision and Blur,’ Stanislaus von Moos examines the connections between art and architecture, focusing on Herzog & de Meuron's special collaborations with photographers and artists such as Thomas Ruff, Hannah Villiger, Remy Zaugg, and many others. Von Moos perceives the connection between the two disciplines as fleeting and blurred, as in Thomas Ruff's pixel images, or ambivalent, as in the works of Josef Albers or Jasper Johns. When Herzog & de Meuron were represented at the Venice Architecture Biennale for the first time in 1991, they left the field in the Swiss pavilion to four photographers, including Balthasar Burkhard and Margherita Krischanitz (later Spiluttini). In many cases, they transferred the pictorial perception of photography to the understanding of their buildings. The essay examines this thesis from the camera obscura to individual buildings in order to get to the bottom of Herzog & de Meuron's signature style. Evaporation and blurring on the one hand contrast with the organised everyday life in the architectural office. This ambivalence is one of the hallmarks of Herzog & de Meuron. The second valuable essay by Artur Rüegg addresses the relationship between architects and existing buildings. ‘Spurenlesen’ (Reading Traces) refers to various buildings and planning processes, including the Roche site and the extension of the Stadtcasino in Basel. Form as a consequence of concept, and the sculptural component as a result. This approach is then mixed with ideas of the archetype or the inconspicuous and hidden, which lie beyond rules and boundaries. Here, too, proximity to art plays a prominent role – from Joseph Beuys to Donald Judd's minimal art. ‘The unpretentiousness, the directness, the seemingly banal and self-explanatory that Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron found in art at the time seems to characterise their approach to existing buildings today,’ Arthur Rüegg sums up.
Parrish Art Museum , photo: Iwan Baan, 2012
Understanding architecture
Stanislaus von Moos and Arthur Rüegg outline a way of understanding Herzog & de Meuron's architecture outside of its context, which makes this monograph more valuable than many other publications. The 496-page book is published by Steidl Verlag and bound in linen, with an excerpt from Wolfgang Tillmann's work ‘Tate Modern Editions #15’ featured on the cover. The paper quality is perfectly balanced, sometimes uncoated for the text pages and then coated again for better image quality. Professionals were at work on ‘Fünfundzwanzig x Herzog & De Meuron’. The authors, both emeritus professors, have been familiar with the work of Herzog and de Meuron from the very beginning. Gerhard Steidl and his renowned publishing house are known for the quality of their books, especially for art and fiction. Martina Brassel gave the monograph a calm, unagitated style with her graphics. This is another of the special features of this book, which stands out from all the other publications on Herzog & de Meuron.
Stanislaus von Moos, Arthur Rüegg, „Twentyfive x Herzog de Meuron“, 496 pages, 870 illustrations, linnen hardcover, 26.5 x 24.5 cm, Steidel Verlag, Göttingen 2024, ISBN 978-3-96999-138-1
