After two years, the doors are reopening on the art museum in the Swiss town of Aarau, with a population of 16 thousand in Canton Aargau. It houses a remarkable collection of contemporary art – with works by Alberto Giacometti, Jean Tinguely, Richard Long and Fischli/Weiss among others – most of which was kept in the archives of the original building, extended in 1959 but now totally inadequate. In the new project, by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with the artist Rémy Zaugg, the spaces have more than doubled, to offer a total of 6 thousand square metres of exhibition surface.
The Swiss team, winner of a competition by invitation held in 1997, sought a dialogue with the existing building, constructed in 1956-59 by two local architects – Loepfe Hänni und Hänngli. The result is a harmonious blend of old and new that, on the inside, focuses on two spectacular elements: the entrance and the foyer, containing a cafeteria and bookshop with, beside it, a library open for free consultation. The roof – 783 square metres of actual surface – is covered with moss, grown on a layer of tufa.
The inaugural exhibition “Neue Räume” (New Spaces) until February – the title is a reference to the new spaces offered by the architectural project and those created within the collection – takes the opportunity to present the works in the permanent collection, further increased recently.
The foyer contains a cafeteria and bookshop. And, beside it, there is a library open for free consultation. Photo Heinrich Helfenstein
Temporary exhibitions will be held on the ground floor and the permanent collection will be exhibited on the upper floor and basement. Photo Heinrich Helfenstein
An example of the dialogue between old and new is seen in the monumental plastic volume of the spiral staircase, a citation of the existing one in the 1950s building. Photo Heinrich Helfenstein
