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
| Mar 12, 2013
'World's greenest' office building seeks tenants in Seattle
Superefficient Seattle office building is designed to meet the ambitious goals of the Living Building Challenge.
| Mar 6, 2013
Dual towers designed by SHoP create new affordable housing in NYC
With the construction of Hunters Point South, New York City will get its first large new housing development for middle-class families in more than 30 years. Related Companies is partnering with the nonprofit Phipps Houses in the project, designed by SHoP Architects with Ismael Leyva Architects.
| Mar 6, 2013
Robert Ivy, Jerry Yudelson announced as keynoters for BUILDINGChicago
Robert Ivy, FAIA, CEO of the American Institute of Architects, will be the keynote speaker at BUILDINGChicago on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Jerry Yudelson, PE, LEED Fellow, the author of 13 books on sustainable design, will deliver the Wednesday, September 11, keynote address.
| Mar 6, 2013
German demonstration building features algae-powered façade
Exterior of carbon-neutral demonstration building consists of hollow glass panels containing micro-algae "farms."
| Mar 5, 2013
Recycled recreation: Waste-to-energy plant combines with ski resort
A new project near Copenhagen pushes the boundaries of the term "mixed use," combining a waste-to-energy plant with a ski resort.
| Mar 5, 2013
Barbara Mullenex joins Washington, D.C., office of Perkins Eastman as principal
The Board of Directors of top international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce that Barbara Mullenex RA has joined the growing Washington, DC, office as a Principal. Mullenex joins with a distinguished career of more than 26 years of industry experience in architecture and interior design focused on hospitality and corporate interiors.
| Mar 4, 2013
Dewberry names James Draheim president of architectural practice
Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, has recently hired James Draheim, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, as president of the firm’s 175-person nationwide architectural practice. Draheim will be responsible for all facets of the firm’s business development, operations, strategic planning, and growth.
| Mar 4, 2013
German healthcare design specialist TMK Architekten joins HDR Architecture
TMK Architekten • Ingenieure, one of Germany’s leading healthcare architecture firms, announced today that it is joining forces with HDR Architecture, the world’s No. 1 healthcare and science + technology design firm. The merged company will conduct business as HDR TMK, and will be the hub for the firm’s healthcare and science + technology design programs in Europe.
| Mar 4, 2013
Korean Air, AC Martin collaborating on Western region's tallest tower
The 1,100-foot Wilshire Grand will combine retail and restaurant space, offices, and a luxury hotel in the sky.
