Herzog & de Meuron

Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, photo Margherita Spiluttini, courtesy of The Hyatt Foundation

Founded in 1978 in Basel by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, both born in 1950, Herzog & de Meuron (sometimes abbreviated in H&dM) is possibly the most famous architectural partnership in the world.

Since their first building (the tiny “Blue House” completed in 1980 in Oberwil, Switzerland) their design approach has always been characterized by an original combination of great formal inventiveness and subtle references to architectural archetypes, especially those of central-European architecture; and by a thorough, almost maniacal, attention to details, materials, and textures.

Best known to the general public for their large-scale public projects, such as the Beijing National Stadium developed in collaboration with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Herzog & de Meuron are widely considered masters of museum design; from the Goetz Collection in Munich (1992) to the Tate Modern redevelopment (2000), from the Museu Blau in Barcelona (2011) to the brand new Unterlinden Museum in Colmar (2016) – just to name a few – the practice has conceived some of the most iconic and widely appreciated museums in the world.