The Emanuel Hoffmann-Stiftung foundation, based in Basel, began collecting art in 1933 and has works by nearly 150 artists. Originally these were displayed in the Basel Museum of Fine Arts or Contemporary Art Museum. yet a major question remained: what to do with the invisible 99 per cent of the collection?
Local architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron responded with a new kind of space for art, neither a museum nor a warehouse but something in between. Globally celebrated for their art galleries, the Swiss pair have become renowned for their tendency to experiment with new forms.
The interior of their Schaulager offers ideal space for storage, flexible enough to make any work available by appointment, while clearly expressing this functional requirement visually. They also created exhibition areas, offices, workshops, and an auditorium.
The inner space gives a logical shape to the exterior, seemingly extruded from geometrical canons. Carefully designed, the indented entrance facade creates a courtyard that turns a dull lot in the outskirts of the city into a genuine urban space.
“The strength of our buildings lies in their ability to produce an instant, visceral impact on the visitor.” Herzog & de Meuron
