Abstract | Unlike many architects, they [H&dM] do not have a signature style, but through detailed research and analysis they develop unexpected and highly original designs, each different from the other. This opening statement is drawn from the gallery guide to the Herzog & de Meuron (H&dM) exhibition held at the Royal Academy during the summer of 2023. As the work on show clearly demonstrated, the first part of the claim is true – H&dM do not have a signature style; however, no matter how many times the exhibition is viewed, nor how intently one views the items on show, it is impossible to decide about the second part. Impossible simply because of the space to show and the time available to read a fully documented account of all their projects. This essay looks at what the claim means if we look carefully at a select few of H&dM’s projects. Just as the exhibition directors had to devise a strategy for demonstrating the diversity and inventiveness of their work within a limited space and timeframe, so it has been necessary to devise a strategy for focusing on H&dM’s design methods within the limited framework of a journal essay. Hence, to gain the necessary focus, this essay considers just two pairs of architectural competitions, both for museums of modern and contemporary art − in the cities of London and Berlin − and both won by H&dM. |
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