Extension of the Kunsthaus Zurich by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin

The project started with a competition in 2008 - now the extension of the Zurich Kunsthaus by David Chipperfield Architects has been opened. It makes the house the largest museum in Switzerland. And structurally it gives the city of Zurich something it hardly had before, despite banks, expats and tourists: international flair.

by Barbara Hallmann, 03.11.2021

Zurich may look very cosmopolitan from the outside - in terms of construction, it has remained rather Swiss-neutral, despite the major projects of recent years. Good, but not outstanding projects have been implemented: Neither the underground extension of the main train station nor the Prime Tower or the Europaallee have ensured that world-class architecture is created in Zurich. The compulsion to find a consensus that everyone can live with is too strong.

The timeless-looking new building by British architect David Chipperfield has been complementing the Kunsthaus Zürich since the beginning of October 2021. The geometric building with clear lines opens up completely new possibilities for the museum - and at the same time makes it the largest art museum in Switzerland. Photo: Faruk Pinjo

Unobtrusive cubature
In a way, the Kunsthaus extension by David Chipperfield Architects is no exception. It adds a solitaire to the existing Art Nouveau building from 1910, to which three extensions had already been added by 1976, which at first glance is not at all recognizable as part of the Kunsthaus: Located on the north side of Heimplatz and thus separated from the previous Kunsthaus buildings by the street and the streetcar line, the building with its light travertine façade dares to make a strong independent statement, but its cubature is nevertheless inconspicuous. The generous openings are discreetly concealed behind travertine ribs, so the facade remains calm and yet appears lively.

Gigantic hall
The real sensation is inside. After entering the new building through a small entrance room, one enters the central hall on the left and experiences a surprise: In Zurich, there is no such wide space - except perhaps in the main station. If one has just strolled through the narrow old town on the way to the Kunsthaus, the three-story hall seems even more gigantic. "We wanted to work here with the experiences that architecture makes possible," said David Chipperfield at the press conference for the opening. After all, he said, a museum is not an airport or an office, but rather one of the most important social places of the present. The interior walls are made of light-colored exposed concrete, and the floors are covered with marble. Brass elements provide a warm contrast: doors to the collection areas, the ballroom and the museum store, handrails and signaling were all made of this material.

For the Kunsthaus Zürich, matí AG Lichtgestaltung has developed a lighting concept together with Zumtobel that leaves the main role to the exhibited works of art: restrained, functional and, above all, with a consistent design language that keeps the visitors' attention on the exhibited works. Photo: Faruk Pinjo

Preference for daylight
In the collection rooms themselves, the fact that in many cases direct daylight falls in through floor-to-ceiling narrow glazing and visual references to the outside are possible is impressive. "After all, a room without windows is not a room, it's a storage room," Chipperfield emphasized at the opening - even though he was aware that the thought of ever-changing daylight makes museum people nervous. The glazing can be shaded with blinds if necessary, and there are also skylights in some rooms on the second floor. "The relationship of people, space and object is simply created by light. Its changes are what create emotions," argues the architect. "When it gradually gets dark in the evening in naturally lit museum spaces, I personally like it a lot."

Customized lighting solutions
Daylight was given priority wherever possible. The necessary artificial lighting should preferably remain in the background. Only in the case of particularly sensitive works such as medieval Marian figures is artificial light mainly used. "It is important to me that in each case you first perceive the work of art itself and only then the light that illuminates it," says David Chipperfield. Zumtobel provided customized solutions for this task, which the architect describes as extremely challenging: "The combination of natural and artificial light has been achieved in an outstanding way, especially on the upper floor."

Controversy, Swiss solved
A considerable part of the rooms is filled by the works of the Bührle Collection, which has always caused controversy around the new building. It was built in particular to give this permanent loan of 203 world-class works the space they deserve. However, the origin of the paintings and sculptures, including van Gogh's and Monet's, Picasso's and Renoir's, is not clear to everyone: they were collected by the German industrialist Emil Bührle, who manufactured weapons in Zurich during the Second World War and sold them to anyone who would pay for them. With the money he earned, he became involved with the Kunsthaus during the Second World War, helped finance the 1958 extension - and bought paintings from Jewish collectors for his private collection in the period up to 1945. Critics have complained for years that the history of the collection is not given enough focus in the new Kunsthaus - and that the city of Zurich instead uses it rather uncritically as a drawing card for tourism. Only in the entrance area to the actual Bührle Collection is there a room that attempts a classification.

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