250 Herzog & de Meuron. An Exhibition

The title, No. 250, is the project number assigned to this exhibition in Herzog & de Meuron’s list of works. Just as every building project is given a number in Herzog & de Meuron’s archive, the larger exhibitions are also included in their list of works. These exhibitions are not primarily used to present what has already been achieved; rather, the architects attempt to make each exhibition an autonomous statement that can only be expressed in this form.

The exhibition No. 250 is not intended as a celebration of Schaulager’s house architects. Our interest is not in the completed projects or finished buildings. Rather, it lies on another plane, having much more to do with a specific stance that marks the work of Herzog & de Meuron. This can be described as a fundamental openness vis- -vis the particular circumstances of a given project. The architects exploit this openness in order to initiate a dialog with the context, to integrate it and to react to it. This combination of transparency to the outside and simultaneous concentration on the goal they set themselves is what ultimately makes every building look so individual and identifiable, and what charges it with a quality that derives not only from its functionality but also from its charisma.

One specific feature of Herzog & de Meuron’s oeuvre is that every finished project is the result of an involved design process that leaves physical traces behind, in the form of a great variety of formal experiments, sketches, models and material samples. It is here, even more than in the finished buildings, that the architects’ concerns can be made manifest in an exhibition. These traces are therefore the focus here. The exhibition offers a view into the architects’ workshop and archive, from the earliest attempts twenty-five years ago to the more recent large projects that are currently in progress.

In a large undivided space, the elements of the archive are spread out on tables and larger items are placed on the floor. Like a market square, this area is surrounded by five small booths. Here Herzog & de Meuron’s specific approaches to the design process are explored in depth. Beyond that unfolds another open zone that is devoted to “life in motion, to people, to the use of buildings.” The fact that the exhibition takes place in Schaulager, that is, in a building designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is not just a special challenge for the architects. It also offers an opportunity, unusual for an architectural exhibition, to reassure oneself of the reality of the building at any moment, to experience its presence and seductive power with complete immediacy.

Jacques Herzog, Theodora Vischer, “Introduction,” first publication in: Vademecum. Herzog & de Meuron. No. 250. an Exhibition, Schaulager, Laurenz Foundation (ed.), Basel 2004.

Exhibition Overview

35 tables with “Waste and Sweet Dreams” form a marketplace; five booths along one side of it contain in-depth displays. The open area behind the booths focuses on the ways individuals experience architecture: how people use buildings and move about within them. An index provides a key to the exhibition layout.

Models play a major part in the architects’ design process as they develop forms, research spatial configurations, and experiment with materials.

Models and materials of all kinds are laid out on lengths of paper, which are printed with information relating to the various projects.

Two large-scale urban projects in China, which arose from the architects’ collaboration with Ai Weiwei, are presented in a booth of their own. The shapes of the booth’s entrances are derived from doors and windows developed for those projects and from forms seen in Chinese gardens.

The exhibition includes “Sweet Dreams,” a new group of objects and landscapes made from poured sugar. Some are casts of archaic, prehistoric tools.

Five project booths highlight specific procedures and methods used by Herzog & de Meuron and are dedicated to sketches, documentary materials (Sourcebook), teaching, and collaborations with artists—in this case Rémy Zaugg. Between the booths, the displays focus on life and movement.

The exhibition takes full advantage of the space at Schaulager. The building’s dynamic interplay of intimacy and expansiveness, of niches and open areas is echoed not only in many of the projects but also in the way that the exhibits are presented.

Printed Material

Team

Partners: Jacques Herzog; Pierre de Meuron
Project Team: Esther Zumsteg (Head Exhibitions); Bettina Keller-Back; Nils Sanderson; Donald Mak; Roman Aebi; Monika Annen; Renata Arpagaus; Mariano Ciccone; Alexander Franz; Nikolai Happ; Rodrigo Faria da Costa Lima; Gustavo Espinoza; Monic Frahn; Nina Jakob; Jobst Jungclaus; Lena Kramer; Sebastian Massmann; Anna-Lisa Nemeth; Lina Rainoni; Céline Studer; Pim van Wijlick; Léonie Knecht

Facts

Client
Schaulager, Laurenz Foundation, Münchenstein/Basel, Switzerland

Curators
Theodora Vischer and Jacques Herzog

An exhibition by Schaulager Basel and Herzog & de Meuron, adapted for each subsequent venue.

Objects
Over 1000 Models, Objects, Prototypes, Samples, Mock-ups

Art Work
Video Installations
Zilla Leutenegger: Laban, 2004; St. Jakob Stadion, 2004
Armin Linke: Forum 2004, Barcelona 2004
Ai Weiwei: INTERVAL – From DaBeiYao to DaBeiYao, 8. 10. – 7. 11. 2003, 2003

Photography
Andreas Gursky: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1995; Prada, Tokyo, 2004
Thomas Ruff : Haus Nr. 4 II (Ricola Laufen) 1991; Antipodes I, Dijon 1993; Sammlung Goetz, Munich 1994; Signal Box, Basel 1994; Ricola, Mulhouse 1994; Bibliothek, Eberswalde 1999; Forum 2004, Barcelona, 2004; jpeg hdem01 (Ricola Marketing Building, Laufen), 2004; jpeg hdem04 (Bibliothek, Eberswalde), 2004; ; jpeg hdm 02 (Dominus Winery, Napa Valley), 2005; jpeg hdem02 2005; jpeg hdem03 (de Young Museum San Francisco), 2005; Allianz Arena, Munich 2006
Michael Wesely: Allianz Arena, Munich 2005

Mural Painting
Rémy Zaugg: Und / würde ich, / wenn ich / die Augen / öffne, / sichtbar / werden, 2004
And would I, if I were to open my eyes, become visible (Translation Catherine Schelbert)
Green synthetic resin paint on built-in wall (4.5 m)
Total dimensions of text piece: 193 x 145 cm
Dimensions of text: 95 x 117 cm
Position on the wall: Distance from ground: 85 cm, 152.5 cm towards both sides

Edition
No. 256 Sweet Dreams
Tools # 1, Series 1, 2004
Klinge
Edition 500

Link
Schaulager

Bibliography

“Vademecum. Herzog & de Meuron. No. 250. An Exhibition.” Edited by: Schaulager, Basel, Laurenz Foundation. Exh. Cat. “Herzog & de Meuron. No. 250. An Exhibition.” Schaulager, Basel, 8 May – 12 September 2004. Basel, Schaulager Basel, Laurenz Foundation, 2004, n.p.

Jacques Herzog, Adam Jasper, Jorge Otero-Pailos: Interview: Material and Performance.
In: Adam Jasper, Jorge Otero-Pailos (Eds.). Future Anterior. Journal of Historic Preservation History Theory and Criticism. 2016. pp. 11-20.

Jacques Herzog, Gottfried Boehm: Über Architektur und Bild. Jacques Herzog und Gottfried Boehm im Gespräch.
Edited by: Theodora Vischer. Göttingen, Steidl, 2008. (= Schaulager-Hefte).

Nobuyuki Yoshida (Ed.): “Architecture and Urbanism. Herzog & de Meuron 2002-2006.” Tokyo, A+U Publishing Co., Ltd., 08.2006.

Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard Levene (Eds.): “El Croquis. Herzog & de Meuron 2002-2006. Monumento e Intimidad. The Monumental and the Intimate.” Vol. No. 129/130, Madrid, El Croquis, 2006.

Stanislaus von Moos: “Nr. 250. Überlegungen zum Schaulager der Emanuel Hoffmann-Stiftung in Basel von Herzog & de Meuron.” In: Sylvia Claus, Micheal Gnehm, Bruno Maurer (Eds.) et al. Architektur weiterdenken. Werner Oechslin zum 60. Geburtstag. Zurich, gta Verlag, 2004. pp. 339-357.

Roger Diener, Jacques Herzog, Marcel Meili, Pierre de Meuron, Christian Schmid: “Die Schweiz. Ein städtebauliches Portrait.” Edited by: ETH Studio Basel. Institut Stadt der Gegenwart. Basel, Birkhäuser, 2006. Vol. No. 1-4.

“Scenographies d’Architectes. Architects’ Exhibition Designs. 115 Expositions Européennes mises en scène par des Architectes. 115 European Exhibitions designed by Architects.” Edited by: Christine Desmoulins. Exh. Cat. “Scénographies d’architectes.” 7 July – 22 October 2006. Paris, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 2006.

Jacques Herzog Philip Ursprung: On Smell. In: Philip Ursprung (Ed.). Herzog & de Meuron. Natural History. Exh. Cat. Herzog & de Meuron. Archaeology of the Mind. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. 23 October 2002 – 6 April 2003. Baden, Lars Müller, 2002. pp. 364-365.