038 Ricola Storage Building – Herzog & de Meuron

Project: 1986
Realization: 1987

The building serves the fully automated storage of herbal sweets. Seen from the outside and from a distance, the building reveals itself as a singular unified whole, as something that one could understand as a storage building. The Eternit panels, larger at the top than at the bottom, make up the cladding and underline the difference between the lower part, where innumerable individual foundations support the façade construction, and the upper part, where a cantilevering timber construction reveals the galvanized sheet-metal box on the building’s inside.

Visual references are also made to the traditional stacking of sawn timber boards around the numerous saw mills of the area, as well as to the limestone quarry within which the storage building sits. The foundation beams have been left exposed. Layers of construction have been left visible so that the basic cladding of galvanized sheet metal can be seen with the loading bay. The image of the stacking of planks is seen on approaching the building; every element of the cladding is a kind of storage frame wherein parts of the façade are “stored“, just as goods are stored in the building’s interior.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1988

Process

The image of stacked wooden boards, frequently found in the sawmills of the Laufen valley, was used for the shell of the storage house with a ventilated weather-protection facade.

The storage hall for herbs and bonbons was erected on a concrete base on top of rocky ground in the immediate vicinity of the lime rock wall in an old quarry.

A first model still shows all Eternit boards at an even height. The second model additionally clarifies the shell-like character of the facade.

From the distance, the facade has an object-like closed-up character.

Upon approaching the building, the repetitive structure of the facades falls apart into its carrying and loading components that adjoin one another in a harsh way without forming a rhythm.

The termination of the facade is formed by a cantilevering wreath of horizontal Eternit boards, allowing the metal volume to peek through.

Drawings

Team

Partners: Jacques Herzog; Pierre de Meuron

Facts

Client: Ricola, Laufen, Switzerland
Planning: Construction Management: Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd., Basel, Switzerland; Electrical Planning: Elektro Burger, Basel, Switzerland; Structural Engineering: R. Schmidlin, Laufen, Switzerland
Specialist / Consulting: Metal Engineering: A. Schmidlin, Zwingen, Switzerland; Timber Construction : G. Kämpf AG, Rupperswil, Switzerland
Building Data: Facade surface: 31'215 sqft, 2'900 sqm
Links: www.ricola.com

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.

Nobuyuki Yoshida (Ed.): “Architecture and Urbanism. Herzog & de Meuron 1978-2002.” Tokyo, A+U Publishing Co., Ltd., 02.2002.

“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.

Jacques Herzog, Sabine Kraft, Christian Kühn: “Mit allen Sinnen spüren. Jacques Herzog im Gespräch mit Sabine Kraft und Christian Kühn.” In: Sabine Kraft, Nikolaus Kuhnert, Günther Uhlig (Eds.). “Archplus. Zeitschrift für Architektur und Städtebau. Architektur natürlich.” Vol. No. 142, Aachen, ARCH+ Verlag GmbH, 07.1998. pp. 32-39.

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Jacques Herzog: “Recent Work of Herzog & de Meuron.” In: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (Ed.). “Columbia Documents of Architecture and Theory.” Vol. No. 4, New York, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, 1995. pp. 5-25.

Jacques Lucan: “Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron. Vers une Architecture.” In: Dieter Bachmann (Ed.). “Du. Die Zeitschrift der Kultur. Pendenzen. Neuere Architektur in der deutschen Schweiz.” Vol. No. 5, Zurich, Conzett + Huber Zeitschriften AG, 05.1992. pp. 28-33.

Wilfried Wang: “Herzog & de Meuron. Interpreting the Place.” In: Ian Latham, Mark Swenarton (Eds.). “Architecture Today. The Independent Architectural Magazine.” Vol. No. 2, London, Architecture Today plc, 10.1989. pp. 44-47.

Jacques Herzog: “Die verborgene Geometrie der Natur. The Hidden Geometry of Nature.” In: Gerhard Mack (Ed.). “Herzog & de Meuron 1978-1988. Das Gesamtwerk. Band 1. The Complete Works. Volume 1.” Basel / Boston / Berlin, Birkhäuser, 1997. Vol. No. 1. pp. 207-211. First published in: Jacques Herzog: “La Geometria oculta de la Naturalesa. The Hidden Geometry of Nature.”
In: Josep Lluís Mateo (Ed.). “Quaderns d’Arquitectura i Urbanisme. Geogafies. Geographies.” Vol. No. 181/182, Barcelona, Col-legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. Association of Catalan Architects, 09.1989. pp. 96-109.

Martin Steinmann: “Warehouse, Ricola, Switzerland, 1986-87.” In: Richard Burdett, Wilfried Wang (Eds.). “9H.” Vol. No. 8, London, 9H, 1989. pp. 74-75.

Moritz Küng, Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron: “De Voorstad, de Vanzelfsprekendheid, de Traditie – Utopie. The Suburb, Self-evidence, Tradition – Utopia. Een Gesprek met Jacques Herzog en Pierre de Meuron over. A Conversation with Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron on.” In: “Forum. Driemaandelijks Tijdschrift voor Architectuur. Architectural quarterly.” Vol. No. 1, Amsterdam, Genootschap Architectura et Amicitia, 02.1988. pp. 34-39.

Martin Steinmann: “Fabrikbauten. Bâtiments industriels. Edifici industriali. Factory Buildings.” In: Schweizerische Verkehrszentrale (Ed.). “Schweiz. Suisse. Svizzera. Svizra. Switzerland. Monatszeitschrift der Schweizerischen Verkehrszentrale und des öffentlichen Verkehrs. Neuere Architektur.” Vol. No. 1, 1988. pp. 32-41.

Bruno Reichlin: “Objectlike. The Ricola Storage Building.” In: K. Michael Hays (Ed.). “Assemblage. A critical Journal of Architecture and Design Culture.” Vol. No. 9, Cambridge MA / London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Press, 06.1989. pp. 108-113. First published in: Bruno Reichlin: “Objekthaft.” In: Architekturmuseum Basel (Ed.). “Herzog & de Meuron. Architektur Denkform.” Exh. Cat. “Herzog & de Meuron. Architektur Denkform.” Architekturmuseum Basel, Switzerland. 1 October – 20 November 1988. Basel, Wiese AG, 1988. pp. 20-27.