Atelier Peter Zumthor has revealed conceptual designs for their CHF 100 million ($100 million USD) addition of the Beyeler Foundation in Riehen, Switzerland, just outside of the city of Basel. Located on land formerly off-limits to the public, the extension will add an array of new event and gallery spaces to the existing museum, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and opened in 1997.
Drawing from the “village-like character” of Riehen, the addition will consist of three, relatively small new buildings that blend harmoniously into the museum’s nature-filled setting: a stoic building for administration and service, a glass pavilion for events, and a grand House for Art. Together, their arrangement will help to create a subtle link between the new and old areas of the site.
“I want to create buildings that are loved,” commented Peter Zumthor. “Having the chance to do so in Basel, the city of my youth, is a particular honor for me.”
“Peter Zumthor brings great experience to the construction of cultural buildings and has the necessary sensitivity to build a museum of outstanding quality in this very special spot in the heart of Riehen,” said Sam Keller, the Director of the Fondation Beyeler.
“The interaction between human beings, nature, art and architecture that has always characterized the Fondation Beyeler will be as successfully achieved as it was twenty years ago by Renzo Piano.”
The full project, including acquisition of the land and existing buildings, funding of the new building, and ten years of operating and maintenance costs, is being privately financed, and is expected to cost CHF 100 million budget. Half of that amount has already been committed.
Learn more about the project here.
News via The Beyeler Foundation
Peter Zumthor Selected to Design Beyeler Foundation Expansion
The office of Peter Zumthor has been selected to design an expansion to the Beyeler Foundation, located just outside Zumthor's childhood home of Basel, Switzerland. The Swiss architect was chosen from a prestigious shortlist of 11 firms to add to the existing museum building, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and completed in 1997.
