Herzog & De Meuron ‒ The Complete Works
Herzog & de Meuron are among the most important international architects of our time. The complete works edition published by Birkhäuser Verlag takes this outstanding status into account and presents their work in its context. Volume 1 documents the first eleven years of Herzog & de Meuron architectural practice.
During this period from 1978-1988, a methodological basis was developed on which the major projects of the following years could build. While buildings such as the "blue house" near Basel were characterized by a nature-related imagery, Herzog & de Meuron emerged almost simultaneously with designs that were so condensed that appearance, function and structure coincided. The warehouse for the Ricola company in Laufen with its shell of layered Eternit-panels is exemplary of this.
Another central theme of the first decade of works is the fundamental re-evaluation of materials. A house in a garden near Basel was constructed entirely from different types of plywood inside and out, while the exterior walls of a residential building in Tavole, Liguria, are made of layers of quarry stone. A glass shell was planned for a laboratory building in Basel, which partially detaches itself from the structure; a residential building with a gallery space lives from the diverse use of concrete. Even the early works reveal a pronounced interest in the design of the façade. Herzog & de Meuron's engagement with overarching urban planning aspects first manifested itself clearly in the Pilotengasse housing estate on the outskirts of Vienna, which they designed and realized together with Adolf Krischanitz and Otto Steidle in 1987-1992.
The pragmatic thinking for a specific place and purpose in the rapidly changing present, which characterizes Herzog & de Meuron's architectural discourse in a special way, is supported in the book by various theoretical contributions.
The central projects are each presented in detail. The appendix contains a chronology of all 47 work numbers from 1978-1988 with precise technical and bibliographical details.
https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/monographs/herzog-de-meuron-1978-1988-the-complete-works-volume-1/
The second volume of the complete works of Herzog & de Meuron covers the years 1989-1991 and 32 project-designs. It includes well-known buildings such as the copper-clad signal box and the locomotive depot in Basel, the museum for the Goetz art collection in Munich, the student residences on the university campus in Dijon and the Pfaffenholz sports complex in St. Louis. The large-scale study Basel, A City in the Making, but also the master plans for the university campus in Dijon and the new district of Sils Cuncas in the Upper Engadine are among the urban planning analyses that constitute the main focus of the volume.
Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron (with their partners Harry Gugger and Christine Binswanger) undoubtedly rank amongst the leading architects worldwide. Volume 3 of their Complete Works is now being published in an updated new edition, enlarged by some 40 pages and approximately 80 colour illustrations. At the time of the first edition, a number of the projects were under construction. These have now been completed and are documented with photographs: the Laboratory Building of Hoffmann-La-Roche in Basel, the Project in the City Center “Five Courtyards” in Munich, the St. Jakob Football Stadium in Basel and the residential buildings on the Rue des Suisses in Paris.
The Tate Modern in London made Herzog & de Meuron famous all over the world. The projects and structures they have built since then are distinguished by the sensitive treatment of materials for which the architects are renowned. In addition, these Pritzker Prize–winning architects have developed a topographical conception of architecture that not only locates their designs in a larger context but also frequently structures them as landscapes. In order to represent them, the layout of volume 4 of the complete works has been completely redesigned. The publication contains essays by the architects themselves in which they situate their projects. The structures presented include such icons of contemporary architecture as the Prada store in Tokyo Aoyama and the Allianz Arena in Munich, where the opening game of the 2006 Soccer World Cup was played. Pathbreaking museum structures such as the Schaulager near Basel, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the De Young Museum in San Francisco continue the conversation surrounding what constitutes a truly contemporary presentation of modern art.
The long-awaited fifth volume on The Complete Works of Herzog & de Meuron presents the sixty projects completed between 2002 and 2004 with characteristic attention to detail. These include buildings that have already become contemporary architectural icons, such as the National Stadium in Beijing and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, but also projects which, though never realized, have influenced the architectural discourse. These include the residential tower for the Schatzalp Hotel, which overlooks Davos and inspired a new generation of Alpine architecture.
In the period covered by this volume, urban planing was a major focus of Herzog & de Meuron's work. International acclaim fueled by booming construction led to numerous commissions in China (the Jindong New Development Area), and in Europe: master plans for Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, and the Olympic Games in London opened up entire urban regions to future development.
Their designs encompass the full range of architectural devices and respond to contemporary developments with a wide range of solutions – the designs refine the interaction with the respective site, with projects ranging from a small private conversion project to a studio ensemble, through to residential towers and urban design projects.
For their designs, Herzog & de Meuron again develop new processes and create references to classic modernism just as to their own oeuvre. Architecture becomes a means of providing physical presence and stability in an increasingly virtual world.
