Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron has donated a large collection of materials belonging to nine of its realized and unrealized projects, developed between 1994 and 2018, to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Donated through the firm’s Basel, Switzerland–based charitable foundation Jacques Herzog und Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, this collection features both physical and digital project assets, including models, sketches, photographs, videos, and digital architectural drawings. This gift will expand the museum’s in-house collection of Herzog & de Meuron’s works which currently includes materials from four architectural projects completed between 1988 and 1997—including the Goetz Art Gallery (1982–92) in Munich and the Ricola Europe Factory and Storage Building (1992–93) in Mulhouse-Brunnstatt, France—and the Pipe Suspension Lamp (2002).
Courtesy Huffton+Crow and MBEACH1
Herzog & de Meuron.1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Fl. (2005–08). Exterior view.
Margherita Spiluttini/Courtesy Architekturzentrum Wien
Herzog & de Meuron and Thomas Ruff. Eberswalde Technical School Library, Germany (1994–96). Exterior view.
The donated materials represent projects such as Eberswalde Technical School Library (1994–99) in Eberswalde, Germany; Laban Dance Center (1997–2003) in London; Beijing National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest), which served as the main stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (2002–08); Kramlich Residence and Collection (1997–2018) in Napa Valley, Calif.; CaixaForum museum in Madrid (2001–08); 1111 Lincoln Road (2005–10) in Miami Beach, Fl.; Elbphilharmonie (2001–16) in Hamburg; and 56 Leonard Street (2006–17) in New York.
Courtesy Imaging and Visual Resources, MoMA
Jacques HerzogNational Stadium, Bejing (2002)Sketch. Pencil and collage on paper.The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Courtesy Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett
Herzog & de Meuron 56 Leonard Street, New York (2006–08). Floor plans. Digital drawing files. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
“For more than three decades, Herzog & de Meuron’s practice has been a singular and defining voice in the discourse of contemporary architecture,” said MoMA’s Philip Johnson chief curator of architecture and design Martino Stierli in a press release. “Thanks to the generosity of the office and the Jacques Herzog und Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, we will be able to include these key works of contemporary architectural production in our changing collection displays when the Museum opens its newly expanded galleries in 2019.”
According to MoMA, these assets “not only [demonstrate] the final design output, but also the design process behind each project.” These materials also highlight the outcome of collaborations between the firm and local and international artists such as Thomas Ruff, Michael Craig-Martin, and Ai Weiwei.
