Rather than conceiving the extension as a single volume, Peter Zumthor fragments the programme and organises it into three autonomous elements, each differing in scale, function, form and materiality, and arranged in close relationship with the landscape. The proposal was selected unanimously following a process involving eleven international architecture practices.
Organised over three floors, the Wyss Museum accommodates the new exhibition programme, adding approximately 1,500 m² of new space and substantially increasing the Fondation Beyeler’s exhibition area. Its Y-shaped plan adapts to the existing trees, preserving an old ginkgo, a sequoia and a group of plane trees. Natural light plays a central role in the galleries through large openings towards the landscape; on clear days, these openings frame striking views of the Black Forest and the Jura. A terrace on the upper floor, connected to the park by an external staircase, extends this relationship between interior and garden.
The expanded ensemble of the Fondation Beyeler, Wyss Museum by Atelier Peter Zumthor. Photograph by Mark Niedermann.
Peter Zumthor’s project expands and enhances Renzo Piano’s building. Both will accommodate works from the collection and loans associated with the institution, while the Wyss Museum will host temporary exhibition projects.
The Wyss Museum is constructed with rammed-concrete walls made with locally sourced Jura limestone aggregate, laid in successive layers that give the façade a warm, irregular appearance. The same stone is used as solid natural stone for benches and stairs, as an aggregate in terrazzo floors, in the ceilings, and, finely processed, in the mineral wall finishes.
The expanded ensemble of the Fondation Beyeler, Wyss Museum by Atelier Peter Zumthor. Photograph by Iwan Baan.
Located between the museum buildings and the historic structures, the Ammann Pavilion acts as a connecting element within the ensemble. Its single-storey volume opens towards the garden through an oak-and-glass façade, while cherry and pearwood define the interior. Floor-to-ceiling glazing establishes a direct relationship with the park. During the day, it operates as a freely accessible public lounge, while at night it can function independently from the museum, accommodating up to 250 people for concerts, performances, conversations and screenings.
The expanded ensemble of the Fondation Beyeler, Wyss Museum by Atelier Peter Zumthor. Roni Horn, Untitled (“A dream dreamt in a dreaming world is not really a dream…but a dream not dreamt is.”), 2010-2012. Claude Monet, Le bassin aux nymphéas, ca. 1920, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Roni Horn. Photograph by Stefan Altenburger.
With the Erlen Torhaus, Peter Zumthor completes the ensemble with a transitional element between the urban fabric and the nature reserve. Works of art are received on the ground floor and transferred to the lower level for preparation, while the upper floors accommodate workspaces. Its façade adopts a simple timber-frame system finished in stained oak, recalling Zumthor’s own studio in Haldenstein.
The expanded ensemble of the Fondation Beyeler, Wyss Museum by Atelier Peter Zumthor. Photograph by Mark Niedermann.
The built extension adds almost 10,000 m² of parkland, nearly doubling the Fondation’s landscaped area. Both gardens were laid out in the 19th century as English Romantic gardens by Jean-François Caillat, although they have distinct characters: the existing park is organised around open lawns framed by groups of trees, while the former Erlengarten retains a denser, more enclosed and wilder character. Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten was responsible for its restoration, preserving meadows with high plant diversity, wooded areas and the existing mature trees.
The expanded ensemble of the Fondation Beyeler, Wyss Museum by Atelier Peter Zumthor. Photograph by Iwan Baan.
Peter Zumthor also intervenes directly in the landscape through a delicate footbridge crossing the pond. This intervention is complemented by the restoration of the historic buildings in the Erlengarten, now given over to new programmes linked to botany, art education, music and experimental projects. The Orangerie, the Ammann Atelier, the Salon and the small Folly thus complete an extension conceived not simply as an addition of new buildings, but as a reorganisation of the ensemble in which architecture, art and landscape establish a new continuity.
