Archinect - News

Herzog & De Meuron's Schaudepot opens at the Vitra Campus

2016-06-03T20:42:00-04:00

Hidden for decades until today, the extensive collection of Vitra—one of the most influential names in modern furniture design—is now on public display in a brand new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron: Schaudepot.

As the latest addition to the Vitra campus, Schaudepot’s front yard connects it to its neighbors, Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station and Álvaro Siza’s factory buildings. From the front, it appears monolithic and earthen, its brick exterior and windowless facade giving away little of the impressive collection of over 20,000 objects inside. In addition to serving as a conservational space for “key objects” in Vitra’s collection, Schaudepot also includes a new cafe and shop, both accessible by the building’s south end through a new public entry point into the campus.

Inside, a window between the main hall and lower ground (where the collection resides) allows visitors to sneak a peek of repository, and its crowning jewel: “The centrepiece of the Schaudepot is a permanent exhibitio...

Edifice Complex: Architecture Leaps From Commodity to Collectible

2014-07-16T15:20:00-04:00

[...] the Crystal Bridges acquisition reflects an increasingly popular attitude toward architecturally significant homes among private collectors. Such buyers now see that historic homes can be collected, preserved, and appreciated much like fine art.

Aspiring to the Trophy Garden

2014-05-08T13:21:00-04:00

As the ranks of the super-rich swell, pride in property has expanded from the house and its trappings to the grounds. Bulldozers are mounding hill and dale, while hydraulic lifts heave massive trees into place and landscape designers orchestrate the creation of a new wave of artful estates. [...] Why marvel at the scenery of a Romantic plein-air painting, when one can commission one’s own version of the sublime?

Interview: Aric Chen on M+ Museum's First Architecture Exhibition

2014-01-30T13:50:00-05:00

Can a museum collect architecture? The answer, say the curators of Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, is yes. Though it won’t open its doors until 2017, M+ has already staged a number of exhibitions across the city, from 2012’s multi-site “Yau Ma Tei” to last year’s “Inflation!,” a collection of inflatable sculptures displayed on the grounds of its future home, the West Kowloon Cultural District.

Previously: Herzog & de Meuron / TFP Farrells Win M+ at West Kowloon Cultural District

Cave Collector in Minnesota Hunts for Additions to His Empire

2013-08-26T12:10:00-04:00

Since the mid-1980s, Mr. Ackerman has been traveling to southeastern Minnesota from his home in the Twin Cities area to explore and acquire caves. He is the largest private cave owner in Minnesota and might be the largest in the country, but nobody is certain because not all of his caves have been fully explored to determine their extent.