Herzog & de Meuron

Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,[1] or Herzog & de Meuron Architekten, BSA/SIA/ETH (HdM), is a Swiss architecture firm with its head office in Basel, Switzerland.[1] The careers of founders and senior partners Jacques Herzog (born 19 April 1950) and Pierre de Meuron (born 8 May 1950) closely paralleled one another, with both attending the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. They are perhaps best known for their conversion of the giant Bankside Power Station in London to the new home of Tate Modern. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have been visiting professors at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 1994 and professors at ETH Zürich since 1999.

Herzog & de Meuron Architekten
Practice information
Key architectsJacques Herzog
Pierre de Meuron
Christine Binswanger
Ascan Mergenthaler
Stefan Marbach
Michael Fischer
Jason Frantzen
Andreas Fries
Robert Hösl
Wim Walschap
Esther Zumsteg
Harry Gugger (former)
Founded1978
LocationBasel, Switzerland
Berlin, Germany
New York City, USA
London, Great Britain
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Significant works and honors
BuildingsAllianz Arena
M. H. de Young Museum
Beijing National Stadium
AwardsPritzker Prize (2001)
Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent (2001)
Royal Gold Medal (2007)
Schock Prize (1999)
Stirling Prize (2003)
Website
www.herzogdemeuron.com

History
Jacques Herzog

Herzog & de Meuron was founded in Basel in 1978.[2] In 2001, Herzog & de Meuron were awarded the Pritzker Prize, the highest of honours in architecture. Jury chairman J. Carter Brown commented, "One is hard put to think of any architects in history that have addressed the integument of architecture with greater imagination and virtuosity." This was in reference to HdM's innovative use of exterior materials and treatments, such as silkscreened glass. Architecture critic and Pritzker juror Ada Louise Huxtable summarized HdM's approach concisely: "They refine the traditions of modernism to elemental simplicity, while transforming materials and surfaces through the exploration of new treatments and techniques."[3] In 2006, The New York Times Magazine called them "one of the most admired architecture firms in the world."[4]

Style

HdM's early works were reductivist pieces of modernity that registered on the same level as the minimalist art of Donald Judd. However, their recent work at Prada Tokyo, the Barcelona Forum Building and the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games, suggest a changing attitude.[4] The shapes and forms of some of the works suggest art glass and objects d'art that one would see on a coffee table, like an art deco ashtray or quirky container for chocolates - a building becomes a blown-up version of desk art because the computer can do it, mimic the plasticity of the medium, and make it possible as a feat of engineering.

HdM's commitment of articulation through materiality is a common thread through all their projects. Their formal gestures have generally progressed from the purist simplicity of rectangular forms to more complex and dynamic geometries. The architects often cite Joseph Beuys as an enduring artistic inspiration and collaborate with different artists on each architectural project. Their success can be attributed to their skills in revealing unfamiliar or unknown relationships by utilizing innovative materials.

Ethics

Herzog & de Meuron has faced criticism for their vision on migrant workers in Beijing during the construction of the Beijing National Stadium. In a July 2008 interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Jacques Herzog was criticised for not having done more to ensure the conditions under which migrant workers constructed the stadium by the interviewer, to which Jacques Herzog responded that the influence of the architect on the construction process is declining rapidly.[5]

On the other hand, some scholars such as Deyan Sudjic have stated that the very building of the stadium sent a signal from the Western architecture firm to the Chinese government to change societal norms.[6] However, others have argued that this statement would go with any stadium design, decreasing the potential of the signal.[7]

Selected projects
Prada Store in Tokyo
IKMZ, Cottbus, Brandenburg
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
BBVA headquarters in Madrid, Spain (2009–2015)
Elbphilharmonie, HafenCity in Hamburg (2007–2016)
Completed
Current

Awards
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References
  1. "Credits." Herzog & de Meuron. Retrieved on 11 October 2012. "Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. Rheinschanze 6 4056 Basel, Switzerland"
  2. "Biography of the architect: Herzog & de Meuron". Floornature.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  3. Jackie Craven. "Master Architects". About.com. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  4. Arthur Lubow (21 May 2006). "The China Syndrome". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2007-03-15. subscription required
  5. Knöfel, Ulrike; Beyer, Susanne (July 30, 2008). "Only an Idiot Would Have Said No". spiegel.de. Der Spiegel. Herzog: We can always exchange a few friendly words with the mayor, but the realities have changed in construction management. We are dealing with a world that, paradoxically enough, is often at odds with the architecture. On the one hand, the architect is highly respected, and architecture also has the capacity to bring about radical social change. On the other hand, the architect's influence on the course of construction is declining rapidly.
  6. Sudjic, Deyan (April 7, 2011). The Edifice Complex. Penguin. ISBN 9780241952771.
  7. Owen, Graham (June 2, 2009). Architecture, Ethics and Globalization. Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 9781134348299.
  8. "Rudin House". wikiarquitectura. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  9. "40 Bond in Detail - Triple Mint". Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  10. "Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei". Serpentine Galleries. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  11. "Parrish Art Museum - Domus". Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  12. "327 FELTRINELLI PORTA VOLTA - HERZOG & DE MEURON". www.herzogdemeuron.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. Curwen, Thomas. "On his Santa Monica mountaintop, a billionaire envisions lofty thoughts on politics and culture", Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2016.
  14. "Herzog & de Meuron’s design for new Vancouver Art Gallery unveiled." Canadian Architect, September 29, 2015. Accessed September 29, 2015.
  15. "Project Teams" Tai Kwun, January 22, 2017. Accessed January 22, 2017.
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