{"id":781068,"date":"2026-09-24T12:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781068\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T12:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:46:15","slug":"peter-zumthor-unveils-trio-of-arts-buildings-for-swiss-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781068\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Zumthor unveils trio of arts buildings for Swiss museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swiss architect Peter Zumthor<\/a> has expanded the Fondation Beyeler museum<\/a> in Riehen, Switzerland<\/a>, with a cluster of art buildings designed to nestle into the park setting.<\/p>\n

Built in the gardens outside the original Fondation Beyeler<\/a> art museum, which was designed by Renzo Piano<\/a> in 1997, the trio of buildings include a rammed-concrete<\/a> art gallery, a glazed cultural space and a wood-clad<\/a> office building.<\/p>\n

\"FondationPeter Zumthor has completed a trio of buildings for Fondation Beyeler. Top photo by Iwan Baan<\/p>\n

Rather than combine all the functions into one building, Zumthor’s studio Atelier Peter Zumthor<\/a> chose to scatter them across the museum’s park to help them blend into the surroundings.<\/p>\n

“I wanted my buildings to blend in so naturally that it felt completely self-evident,” said Zumthor.<\/p>\n

\"FondationThe Wyss Museum is a gallery with rammed-concrete walls<\/p>\n

“It makes me happy when people now tell me they look as if they’ve always been here,” Zumthor continued.<\/p>\n

“From the outside, the buildings sit beautifully on the site, and inside, they have large, airy spaces that don’t feel formulaic \u2013 they are wonderfully expressive, beautiful spaces.”<\/p>\n

\"InteriorLarge windows in the gallery give views of the treetops<\/p>\n

The three-storey Wyss Museum has a Y-shaped floor plan that avoids existing trees and contains exhibition space with large windows overlooking the surrounding foliage.<\/p>\n

Its walls are made from rammed concrete with Jura limestone aggregate, which gives the facades a warm yellow tone.<\/p>\n

Jura limestone also appears in the building’s terrazzo flooring, and solid stone staircase and benches.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Photos reveal Peter Zumthor’s LACMA museum ahead of opening\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ammann Pavilion is a one-storey building designed as a public lounge and space to host cultural events, such as performances, talks and film screenings.<\/p>\n

Glass walls in oak frames immerse the building in the surrounding park.<\/p>\n

Cherry and pear wood surfaces add warmth to the interior, which features stepped flooring that doubles as auditorium seats.<\/p>\n

\"GlazedThe Ammann Pavilion was designed to host events and performances<\/p>\n

Art logistics facilities and offices are located in the Erlen Torhaus building, which is connected to the existing museum by an underground corridor.<\/p>\n

Artwork deliveries are processed on the ground floor, which is clad in varnished oak, while workspaces on the upper floors have large windows overlooking the surroundings.<\/p>\n

\"Wood-cladTimber cladding lines the lower portion of the Erlen Torhaus building. Photo by Iwan Baan<\/p>\n

As part of the Fondation Beyeler expansion, Atelier Peter Zumthor worked with Vogt Landscape Architects<\/a> on the landscaping of the park, which was populated with outdoor artworks by artists Louise Bourgeois, Pierre Huyghe, Rachel Whiteread and Fujiko Nakaya.<\/p>\n

Alongside Zumthor’s trio of buildings, existing buildings elsewhere in the museum complex have been restored and updated for new uses.<\/p>\n

French architect India Mahdavi<\/a> transformed the Orangerie building to accommodate a greenhouse and adjoining shop for plant enthusiasts, exposing the original timber roof structure and adding light-green accents.<\/p>\n

\"GreenhouseA plant-filled building at the museum complex was also renovated by India Mahdavi<\/p>\n

Swiss studio Forsberg Architekten<\/a> updated the museum’s Ammann Atelier to provide workspaces for art education and workshops, and created a music listening lounge in the adjacent Salon room.<\/p>\n

The expanded Fondation Beyeler will have a preliminary opening with limited visitation from 26 September, before fully opening to the public on 15 January 2027.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Zumthor’s long-awaited Los Angeles County Museum of Art<\/a> expansion opened to the public, with artworks displayed in its large, snaking concrete structure.<\/p>\n

His other notable projects include Secular Retreat<\/a> \u2013 a holiday home in Devon formed from rammed concrete.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Mark Niedermann<\/a> unless stated.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/p>\n

Architect: Atelier Peter Zumthor
Structural engineer: Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure
HVACR: Waldhauser and Hermann
Plumbing engineering: Probst and Wieland
Electrical engineering: PZM
Timber engineering: Lauber Ingenieure
Landscape architecture: Vogt Landscape Architects
Refrigeration engineering: Refcon
Building physics: BWS Bauphysik
Lighting design: Mat\u00ec Lichtgestaltung
Daylight design: Institut fu\u0308r Tageslichttechnik
Security and fire safety planning: HKG Consulting
Acoustics: Mu\u0308ller-BBM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has expanded the Fondation Beyeler museum in Riehen, Switzerland, with a cluster of art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,52037,1120,96,51114,10748,67379,257349,4161,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-781068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-cultural-buildings","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-galleries","tag-museums","tag-peter-zumthor","tag-rammed-concrete","tag-switzerland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}