034 House for an Art Collector – Herzog & de Meuron

Project: 1985
Realization: 1986

The house’s site is part of a suburb of small plots, its basically rectangular outline rises from the street to a meadow that is as yet undeveloped. The visible volume of the house is a single-storey parallelepiped. It is made of precast concrete panels held in place by pine slats with a double pitched roof of black concrete tiles that come to rest on a perimeter reinforced-concrete wall. The latter is part of an enclosure that defines both the lower entry court as well as the upper grassed garden. Contained within the base are a garage and an exhibition space.

Continuing the theme of linear configurations seen in previous houses by Herzog & de Meuron, the circulation routes are more differentiated due to the presence of the gallery. The upper floor contains the suite of bedrooms, the wet areas and separate living rooms terminating either end. The spaces in between have a lower ceiling, which allows the house to be read as a singular volume.

The design engages the suburban qualities by restating the self-evident motif. The simple definitions of introverted court and extroverted garden are part of the long tradition of domestic design.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1997

Drawings

Team

Partners: Jacques Herzog; Pierre de Meuron
Project Team: Annette Gigon (Project Architect)

Facts

Planning: Construction Management: Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd., Basel, Switzerland; Structural Engineering: H. Gysin AG, Pratteln, Switzerland; Electrical Planning: Trinkler, Allschwil, Switzerland; Sanitary Planning: Ley, Oberwil, Switzerland; HVAC (Climate Control Design): Beat Heizmann, Basel, Switzerland
Building Data: Site Area: 10'225 sqft, 950 sqm; Gross floor area (GFA): 3'831 sqft, 356 sqm; Footprint: 2'185 sqft, 203 sqm; Gross volume (GV): 49'687 cbft, 1'407 cbm

Bibliography

Luis Fernández-Galiano (Ed.): “Arquitectura Viva. Herzog & de Meuron 1978-2007.” 2nd rev. ed. Madrid, Arquitectura Viva, 2007.

Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard Levene (Eds.): “El Croquis. Herzog & de Meuron 1981-2000. Between the Face and the Landscape. The Cunning of Cosmetics. Entre el Rostro y el Paisaje. La Astucia de la Cosmética.” 2nd adv. and rev. ed. Vol. No. 60+84, Madrid, El Croquis, 2005.

“Herzog & de Meuron. Natural History.” Edited by: Philip Ursprung. Exh. Cat. “Herzog & de Meuron. Archaeology of the Mind.” Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. 23 October 2002 – 6 April 2003. 2nd ed. Baden, Lars Müller, 2005.

Wilfried Wang: “Herzog & de Meuron.” 3rd adv. and rev. ed. Basel / Boston / Berlin, Birkhäuser, 1998. (= Studiopaperback).

Gerhard Mack, Herzog & de Meuron: “Herzog & de Meuron 1978-1988. Das Gesamtwerk. Band 1. The Complete Works. Volume 1.” Edited by: Gerhard Mack. Basel / Boston / Berlin, Birkhäuser, 1997. Vol. No. 1.