Reflections on some recent projects by Herzog & de Meuron
Model-making has been a central aspect in the work of the Swiss architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron since its beginnings, as illustrated by the prominence of physical models in several exhibitions of their oeuvre, for example the ones held in the Paris Centre Pompidou (1995), in the Milan Prada Foundation (2001), or in the Schaulager Museum in Basel (2004) (Figure 4.3.1).1 The reasons for their important use of architectural models are certainly multifaceted and complex, and, following a subjective reading, one could suggest a relation between this working tool and movement, namely, the way the architects imagine and foresee people approaching and accessing, moving into and through their buildings. In this sense, the numerous models built by the Swiss firm would illustrate, among other things, the architects’ concern with people moving around their buildings – admittedly a concern that should constitute a central aspect of each architectural project. However, this concern, together with the production of physical models, seems to be suffering a decline, in a time characterised by mainly virtual representation of architecture. This chapter aims to shed some light on Herzog & de Meuron’s exemplary use of physical models, while also constituting a plaidoyer for this working tool and its crucial role in the projection of movement.
The Parisian exhibition was conceived by the artist Rémy Zaugg in collaboration with the architects, as shown by a fax sent to the artist by Jacques Herzog on 25 November 1994.2 It contains an image of a Thanksgiving meal, illustrating a series of parallel tables, and the architect writes: ‘Dear Rémy, I have found an image of our exposition in the New York Times’.3 The exhibition conceived by the artist Zaugg manifests exactly this arrangement: a series of long, parallel tables, punctually interrupted by objects.4 Its final plan contains information about the different architectural projects shown, but also reveals that an important part of the exhibition consists of drawings and other two-dimensional documents, such as photographs or photomontages, with a limited number of three-dimensional models.5
After some exhibitions held at the Peter Blum Gallery in New York (1997) and the Tate Modern in London (2000), among others, the architects again exhibited a part of their oeuvre in the Milan Prada Foundation.6 This exhibition, held in spring 2001, shows the projects developed up to that point by both Herzog & de Meuron and OMA/Rem Koolhaas for the Italian fashion firm.7 The exhibition is again based on a series of parallel tables; however, the important presence of mock-ups, samples and especially working models is this time remarkable. Finally, in an exhibition organised in 2004 and held in the Schaulager Museum, the use of models becomes even more extensive, without saying that they conspicuously dominate the installation: the tables contain, almost exclusively, models representing different building volumes or envelope materials at multiple scales (Figure 4.3.1).8 For example, the table dedicated to the Prada store in Tokyo (2000–3) contains several cardboard, styrofoam and plexiglass models speculating on possible building outlines; others investigate building structure and envelope.9 The predominance of working models also becomes evident in the vade mecum published for this event.10 The booklet’s plan and the legend show that a large exhibit, entitled ‘Waste and sweet dreams’, consists primarily of building models, and the architects explain: ‘These models [. . .] were always crutches for a design process [. . .] That’s why we always said they were just waste products of a thought process’.11
Figure 4.3.1 Herzog & de Meuron: No. 250, An Exhibition, Schaulager Museum, Basel, Switzerland (2004). Tables exhibiting models, mock-ups and samples
Source: Photograph by Margherita Spiluttini
It becomes evident that, in their exhibitions, the architects show an important number of models as three-dimensional working documents, and two questions arise from this observation: first, can the exhibitions be understood as representing Herzog & de Meuron’s oeuvre in its architectural approach? Second, what is the reason for this keen interest in model-making? Concerning the first, Herzog confirmed, in a conversation with Zaugg: ‘For us, an architectural exhibition must be essentially based on a strong conception, at the same time precise and reflective, which presents and underlines the working method’.12 As the architect reports, an architectural exhibition should represent the working method applied, and, therefore, the abovementioned examples may be understood as representative, not only of their architectural approach, but also of their interest in models as tools and working documents. The reasons that lead to models taking on a central role in the architects’ oeuvre are, however, multifaceted and more complex. First of all, it is relevant to underline that Herzog & de Meuron understand the architectural models, not only as mere tools of representation, but also as an integral part of architecture or the built reality, as they explain:
In the end, the decisive factor for us is that every object we create – the drawings as well as the models – in terms of its own image or material structure is part of the resulting work of architecture, inasmuch as it allows the conceptual idea to be experienced rather than merely serve as an illustration.13