Fondation Beyeler soft-launches its campus expansion in Basel

Fondation Beyeler has just unveiled a new jewel in its crown; the art institution's leafy Basel campus now has a rare Peter Zumthor building – and more. The site has just soft-launched an expanded collection of spaces, including an entire, brand-new museum building, a dedicated event pavilion, a new office and art-handling facility, a design-led greenhouse and a listening salon. These new destinations were revealed this week and will be available to the public as a gradual preview for now, before a grand launch in January 2027, when they will be opened permanently and to their full capacity for all to enjoy.

Tour the reimagined Fondation Beyeler campus in Basel

The Fondation Beyeler, situated next to green fields in the corner of Switzerland that borders France and Germany, thus far contained an existing, handsome period structure dating back to the 18th century (which houses one of Basel's friendliest cafés) and the Beyeler Museum, designed by Renzo Piano and opened on site in 1997.

The foundation's rotating exhibitions draw from its impressive collection put together by Ernst and Hildy Beyeler, which includes works from Pablo Picasso to Claude Monet and beyond (over '400 classical, modern and contemporary art works', the website explains). They have so far been predominantly housed at the Piano building – but this is now joined by the trio of new structures, which aim to expand, 'physically and conceptually', the organisation's operations.

The star of the show among the new architectural additions is without doubt the Wyss Museum, a striking, monolithic building designed by Zumthor for art exhibitions drawing on the foundation's own and its regular collaborators' collections. The Swiss architect is known for his attention to detail, craft-based design, precise execution and clean, minimalist style – and this new cultural destination does not disappoint.

Spread across three flowing, open-plan levels, the building is made almost entirely out of a single material – Jura limestone. This appears in its rammed limestone walls, as terrazzo in floors, limestone wash on internal walls, and as slabs on benches. It took 11 builders two years to work on the limestone elements – a lot of it done by hand. Zumthor himself followed the construction closely, visiting the site to ensure the material's natural variation, as it was being rammed in place, felt balanced and appropriate to his vision.

The architect was keen to source all his materials locally – architectural bronze frames the generous openings (the architect likes horizontal light, so large side windows illuminate the galleries softly while allowing the eye to wander towards the verdant surrounds when taking a break from the art shows), and pear tree wood makes up the deliciously smooth handles.

In his Ammann Pavilion, situated at the campus' heart, just outside the Wyss Museum, Zumthor took a similarly local and tactile approach, but focusing on timber instead. Warm cherry wood lines floors and walls, pear tree appears on handles here too, and oak makes up the building's main structural frame.

This building is wrapped in glazing and furnished with pieces composed by Spanish studio Casa Muñoz, destined to be the campus' potentially most public-facing space. Its programme will be varied, spanning concerts, talks and even dinners and private functions, as it was designed to welcome the crowds throughout the day and for different events.

Opposite it and next to the Wyss Museum sits a new tower with glazed façades – the wooden-framed Erlen Torhaus, which hosts offices as well as art-handling logistics. The artworks will come in through this building before being taken to their exhibition spaces beyond. An underground connection between the tower and the Wyss Museum facilitates safe and secure movement of the precious pieces.

The period structures that form the street-facing side of the campus have also been updated with two new interiors – an India Madhavi-designed plant store and greenhouse, designed as a cold house for plants to survive as the climate warms up; and a listening lounge titled the 'Salon', where a collection of vinyl, picked for its sleeves by well- and lesser-known artists, is available to enjoy.

The latter space will have its own public programme, serving as a more intimate space for writing, debating and music sessions. The salon's soft interior, decorated with warm colours and soft furnishings, was created by Antonio Rossi.

The Beyeler also has further plans for its grounds, a formerly private park - now open to the public as a sculpture garden and open urban space. An entirely new garden section is coming up next year, and rotating art pieces, sparsely placed in a way that allows the visitor a sense of discovery, are in the works. New pieces by Louise Bourgeois, Pierre Huyghe, Rachel Whiteread and Fujiko Nakaya have been curated in place. Meanwhile, the garden addition, currently being crafted by Fischli/Weiss, will follow in spring.

Zumthor spoke warmly of his personal connection to the Fondation Beyeler site: 'I grew up in Oberwil, which is only five kilometres from Basel. Back then, it was still a world of its own. And now, with the expansion of the Fondation Beyeler, Iʼm back in the region, after so many years. This really means a lot to me. I know the landscape, the places and the paths. Bettingen lies on the hillside above Riehen; my first girlfriend lived there. We used to visit each other – it was a two-hour walk from Oberwil to Bettingen. Memories like that connect you to a place in a very personal way.

'I havenʼt yet designed a building in Basel myself. I never got an invitation to. So Iʼm all the more pleased that the expansion of Fondation Beyeler allows me to build in a place that means so much to Basel and the region.'

fondationbeyeler.ch