Herzog & de Meuron Donate Works to MoMA

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978), Thomas Ruff (German, born 1958). Eberswalde Technical School Library, Eberswalde, Germany. 1994–1996. Exterior view.
Photo © Architekturzentrum Wien, Collection, photo: Margherita Spiluttini

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978), Thomas Ruff (German, born 1958). Eberswalde Technical School Library, Eberswalde, Germany. 1994–1996. Façade panel. Silkscreen on concrete, 2 3/8 × 59 1/16 × 28 1/8″ (6 × 150 × 71.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). Kramlich Residence and Collection, Oakville, Napa Valley, California. 1997–2003. Presentation model. Wood, acrylic, and lighting system, 10 5/8 × 55 1/8 × 27 9/16″ (27 × 140 × 70 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany. 2001–2003. Technical building services digital model. 2012. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany. 2001–2003. Interior.
Photo © Iwan Baan

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany. 2001–2003. Volume study, scale 1:500. Foam and copper wire, 6 1/8 × 8 1/4 × 6 1/2″ (15.5 × 21 × 16.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida, USA. 2005–2008. Exterior view.
Photo © Huffton+Crow and MBEACH1, LLLP.

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida, USA. 2005–2008. Exhibition model, scale 1:90. Oak, 18 11/16 × 26 × 22 1/16″ (47.5 × 66 × 56 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). 56 Leonard Street, New York, New York, USA. 2006–2008. Exterior view.
Photo © Iwan Baan

Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, est. 1978). 56 Leonard Street, New York, New York, USA. 2006–2008. Floor plans. Digital drawing files. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel

Jacques Herzog (Swiss, born 1950). National Stadium, Bejing, China. 2002. Sketch. Pencil and collage on paper, 11 11/16 × 16 9/16″ (29.7 × 42 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett.
Photo © Imaging and Visual Resources, MoMA, NY
Architects & Firms
Last week, the Jacques Herzog und Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel, the charitable organization established by the Swiss architects in 2015, donated materials pertaining to nine built and unbuilt projects, developed and realized between 1994 and 2018, to New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The gift comprises 23 physical objects and accompanying digital assets, including sketches, models, digital drawing sets, photographs, and videos.
The donation exhibits the broad scope of the firm’s contribution to contemporary architecture. The works, among them the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, demonstrate some of the ways in which the duo have challenged architectural materiality and typology, and looked beyond traditional practice with their close collaborations with artists such as Thomas Ruff and Ai Weiwei.
“For more than three decades, Herzog & de Meuron’s practice has been a singular and defining voice in the discourse of contemporary architecture,” said Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, in a statement.
The donation, which will add to four earlier architectural projects by Herzog & de Meuron already in MoMA’s collection, point to museums’ increased interest in obtaining works of contemporary architecture. Last week, the 1960s avant-garde studio Archigram sold its archive to the M+ Museum in Hong Kong for $2.3 million, while prominent architectural photographer Alan Karchmer donated several pieces from his collected body of work to the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.