Simonett & Baer indexes the work of Herzog & de Meuron
Inspired by the many Herzog & de Meuron works of architecture in his home city of Basel, publisher Dino Simonett has created a technicolour tome as an index, a tribute and a celebration of the international work of the architects
![Herzog & de Meuron book cover](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/N3TgUg47BKiZ3UdTb3uWNg-415-80.gif)
Basel-based publisher Simonett & Baer has released a book charting the first 500 projects of international architecture firm Herzog & De Meuron. The fly-through index of projects from 1978 to 2019 offers a page-turning outtake of the studio’s evolution, scope and breadth.
Covering plenty of ground, the book’s simple presentation makes it all the more engaging. Each project is dedicated just one landscape image, a title and a number. Four projects occupy each double page spread – the rhythm is tangible.
Projects both realised and unrealised include the most recognisable hits – the VitraHaus, Prada Aoyama, Tate Modern, Beijing’s National Stadium, the Elbphilharmonie. There’s plenty of discovery, and rediscovery, from Studio Remy Zaugg in France, to the Napa Valley Dominius Winery or the Naturbad Riehen. Not to mention competition entries, research studies and website redesigns.
‘How exciting it is to stroll around the world, starting in Basel and ending in Harvard,’ write the publishers in their 2020 catalogue that features news, art and antics from Dino Simonett and Martina Baer. Simonett moved to Basel in 2016 with his family, and spent longer than necessary unpacking because each evening he was studying the architecture of Herzog & de Meuron (chronologically) found all over his new home city. This book is made as a ‘tribute to Herzog and de Meuron and to the city that became our new home,’ he writes in his Editor’s Note.
In the introduction, Michel Kessler, ETH Zurich-trained architect and Herzog & de Meuron employee 2012–13, unwraps the studio’s ‘quasi-archaeological tactics’ starting with the 1979 remodelling of the Marttplatz in Basel. Then, picks black nylon garments designed for Prada, to reveal the variation that has positioned Herzog & de Meuron as a ‘sensory hinge’ between the 20th and 21st centuries – ‘between the clear, cold forms of modernism and the intelligible, digital age.’
This limited edition of 2000 is a useful and beautiful addition to any shelf. While the 200-run Collector’s Edition is a unique piece of art – the rainbow cover has been silkscreen printed on linen and the book signed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.
INFORMATION
Herzog & de Meuron 001 – 500, paperback edition, €68
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘A Time ⋅ A Place’ is a lovingly compiled photographic portrait of cars and architecture
‘A Time ⋅ A Place’ is a celebration of the European Car of the Year and changing perceptions of modern design, pairing the best buildings of the age with their automotive contemporaries
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Álvaro Siza’s new monograph through the lens of Duccio Malagamba is impactful and immersive
Álvaro Siza and photographer Duccio Malagamba collaborate on a new monograph by Phaidon; ‘Before / After: Álvaro Siza Duccio Malagamba’ celebrates the Portuguese architect's work
By Michael Webb Published
-
Marcio Kogan’s Studio MK27 celebrated in this new monograph from Rizzoli
‘The Architecture of Studio MK27. Lights, camera, action’ is a richly illustrated journey through the evolution of this famed Brazilian architecture studio
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
‘Interior sculptor’ Christophe Gevers’ oeuvre is celebrated in new book
‘Christophe Gevers’ is a sleek monograph dedicated to the Belgian's life work as an interior architect, designer, sculptor and inventor, with unseen photography by Jean-Pierre Gabriel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Christian de Portzamparc’s Dior Geneva flagship store dazzles and flows
Dior’s Geneva flagship by French architect Christian de Portzamparc has a brand new, wavy façade that references the fashion designer's original processes using curves, cuts and light
By Herbert Wright Published
-
An Uetikon house embraces minimalism, light, and its Swiss lake views
This Uetikon home by Pablo Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA) sets itself apart from traditional Swiss housing, with a contemporary design that connects with nature
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Flick through ‘Brutal Wales’, a book celebrating concrete architecture
‘Brutal Wales’ book zooms into a selection of concrete Welsh architecture treasures through the lens of photographer Simon Phipps
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Look inside Sixth&Blanco, Herzog & de Meuron’s first project in Texas
Step inside Sixth&Blanco by Herzog & de Meuron, as the Swiss studio reveals interior images of its first ever Texas design, a forward-thinking, sustainable and mixed-use scheme
By Ellie Stathaki Published