Danish firm BIG unveils their newest design – a spiraling structure of steel and glass that juts down into the earth at La Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, for luxury watchmaker company Audemars Piguet.
BIG, along with HG Merz, Luchinger & Meyer and Muller Illien were commissioned by the company to design their newest flagship, which will also be an expansion of the company’s headquarters.
The 25,800-sf pavilion will house the company’s museum, called Maison des Fondateurs. According to Jasmine Audemars, president of Audemars Piguet’s Board of Directors, the museum will be “a place for people to enjoy and share the passion of watchmaking.”
The spiral shape is a storytelling device for the company’s history; as visitors walk down, they are guided through a linear sequence of spaces and events through lounges, galleries and workshops, until they are eventually led to the heritage building in a workshop where the company originated.
In addition to the pavilion, the building will include an underground guest house with windows camouflaged under grassy hills, providing views over the Vallée de Joux.
Bjarke Ingels, founding partner of BIG, comments on the design: “Watchmaking like architecture is the art and science of invigorating inanimate matter with intelligence and performance. It is the art of imbuing metals and minerals with energy, movement, intelligence and measure – to bring it to life in the form of telling time. Unlike most machines and most buildings today that have a disconnect between the body and the mind, the hardware and the software, for the Maison des Fondateurs we have attempted to completely integrate the geometry and the performance, the form and the function, the space and the structure, the interior and the exterior in a symbiotic hole”.
“La Maison des Fondateurs not only symbolises the deep connection between the brand and its origins but also its spirit of independence and avant-garde,” Audemars adds.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
CONVENTION CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner top rankings of nation's largest convention/events sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention/events sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
AIRPORT SECTOR GIANTS: KPF, Hensel Phelps, Jacobs top rankings of nation's largest airport terminal sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Museums | Sep 16, 2015
First look: Diller Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad museum in Los Angeles
LA's newest art museum combines gallery space and collection storage based around two design concepts: the veil and the vault.
Giants 400 | Sep 15, 2015
HOTEL SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner among nation's largest hotel sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest hotel sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
BIM and Information Technology | Sep 14, 2015
Is Apple's new iPad Pro a game changer for architects?
A stylus, split screen, and improved graphics make designing on the tablet easier.
Education Facilities | Sep 14, 2015
Gehry unveils plan for Children's Institute, Inc. campus in LA
The new facility, which will have rooms for counseling, afterschool activities, and youth programs, will allow CII to expand its services to 5,000 local children and families.
Architects | Sep 11, 2015
Haeahn Architecture wins design competition for Seoul work and press center
Building will have low roofs, open courtyard, and media facilities
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR GIANTS: Stantec, Turner, Jacobs among top industrial AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
MILITARY SECTOR GIANTS: Clark Group, HDR, Fluor top rankings of nation's largest military sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Museums | Sep 9, 2015
Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners
The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.
