Herzog & de Meuron stages major exhibition at the Royal Academy – ADC

The Royal Academy of Arts is staging an exhibition of critically acclaimed Swiss architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron (H&dM), the first in London for almost twenty years.

The exhibition will be arranged in a sequence of three spaces that together explore the ideas and processes in the making and experience of architecture. The first room will bring a part of H&dM’s Kabinett, an open storage and research space, from Basel to London. Tall timber shelves will show around 400 objects including a range of models, materials, prints, photographs and film clips, representing a diverse, yet specific, range of projects. Alongside these Kabinett vitrines will be six large photographic works of select projects by artist Thomas Ruff, illustrating H&dM’s interest in the perception of architecture and their long-standing collaborations with artists. Via augmented reality (AR), visitors will also be able to delve further into projects which will be brought to life in the exhibition through digital 3D models and animation.

The second room will be a film space. A large central screen will show a new film by renowned filmmakers Bêka & Lemoine, featuring daily life at H&dM’s project REHAB Clinic for Neurorehabilitation and Paraplegiology in Basel, Switzerland. On the other side of the screen will be a film installation based on observations of people occupying and exploring H&dM projects.

The final room will be dedicated to healing architecture and will focus on a single project which is currently under construction, the Universitäts-Kinderspital Zürich, Switzerland. The project won an international competition in 2012, which called for a new facility with pioneering hospital architecture. The display will give visitors an insight into the work process and the questions H&dM asks itself when approaching the design of a healing space. The room will include a 1:1 interior mock-up of a section of a hospital patient room, illustrating H&dM’s humanising of hospital rooms and designs. Visitors will be able to explore the room at full scale using AR.

The exhibition has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron. The exhibition is curated by Vicky Richardson, Head of Architecture and Drue Heinz Curator, Royal Academy of Arts, in close collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron and will run from Friday 14 July – Sunday 15 October 2023.