After 12 years of planning and construction, the new Kunsthaus
Zurich extension has opened, more than doubling the Swiss museum’s
exhibition space and making it the country’s biggest art museum
David Chipperfield has been working on the project for 12 years / Benjamin McMahon
Across from the Kunsthaus Zurich’s main museum building, a major new SFr206m ($223m) extension has opened, housing the collection of classic modernism, the Bührle collection, temporary exhibitions and art from 1960 onwards.
The new building was designed by David Chipperfield, and sits on the northern side of Heimplatz Square opposite the original 1910 Moser building. It connects with the existing Kunsthaus via an underground tunnel.
Chipperfield’s goal was to turn Heimplatz Square into an urban hub for arts and education in a move that Zurich’s authorities hope will see the city rival Basel as a destination for art lovers.
A large central entrance hall – reportedly inspired by Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall – creates a link between the square and the new Garden of Art sculpture garden to the north of the site, which features pieces by Pipilotti Rist and Auguste Rodin.
The art is displayed on the two upper floors of the new building, while the public functions, including the cafe/bar, events hall, museum shop and museum education services are arranged around the entrance hall on the ground floor.
According to the architects, “The diversely dimensioned exhibition spaces are defined by a calm materiality and an abundance of daylight, placing the immediate experience of art at the centre of the visitor experience.”
“The project for the extension of Kunsthaus Zurich brings together the fundamental concerns of museum design with the responsibilities created by both the urban context and the relationship with the existing museum,” explains David Chipperfield.
“We hope that the quality of the architecture, its spatial, formal and material resolution will guarantee that the extension, like Karl Moser’s original building, becomes an integral part of the physical, social and cultural infrastructure of the city of Zurich."
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 4
Editor's letter: Eco drivers
Therme Group and The Eden Project are going global, on an environmental mission says Magali Robathan
AM People: Julia Baird
On why her brother John Lennon would have loved the Strawberry Field attraction and the work it’s doing for the local community
AM People: Åsa Caap
The thrill of opening the Space Stockholm digital culture centre
Interview: David Harland & Sir Tim Smit
With projects underway around the world, the Eden Project is going global with its call to arms for the future of the planet
Museums: Getting creative
How the Young V&A will aim to provide children with the creative tools stripped out by the pandemic
Interview: Richard Land
Mixing waterslides with wellbeing, the Therme Group is creating a category all of its own while taking on the world, says the group’s chief development officer
Museums: Kunsthaus Zurich completes
A David Chipperfield extension has more than doubled the museum’s exhibition space, making Zurich a major destination for the arts
Interview: Julien Kauffmann
As Farah Experiences prepares to open SeaWorld Abu Dubai, its CEO talks COVID-19, branding and branching with David Camp
Research: Making pre-booking work
Attractions are benefiting from the switch to pre-booking, but must cater for spontaneous, disorganised visitors too, says Jon Young
Research: All creatures great and small
Zoo enrichment and research can’t just be focused on the large animals most popular with visitors, argues Dr Paul Rose. All must be represented
Research: Popularity game
Research on zoo animals focuses more on ‘familiar’ species such as gorillas and chimpanzees, rather than less well known ones such as the waxy monkey frog, scientists say
Analysis: Light in the dark
A successful winter light show can see margins upwards of 30 per cent. Kathleen LaClair and
Yael Coifman look at some of the operators getting it right
Museums: Munch Museum opens in Norway
The iconic new attraction has opened on Oslo’s waterfront with the world’s largest collection of works by Edvard Munch
Mystery Shopper: Galleries & Gourds
It has transformed the sleepy town of Bruton, UK, but does Hauser & Wirth Somerset live up to the hype? Magali Robathan mystery shops to find out
After 12 years of planning and construction, the new Kunsthaus
Zurich extension has opened, more than doubling the Swiss museum’s
exhibition space and making it the country’s biggest art museum
David Chipperfield has been working on the project for 12 years / Benjamin McMahon
Across from the Kunsthaus Zurich’s main museum building, a major new SFr206m ($223m) extension has opened, housing the collection of classic modernism, the Bührle collection, temporary exhibitions and art from 1960 onwards.
The new building was designed by David Chipperfield, and sits on the northern side of Heimplatz Square opposite the original 1910 Moser building. It connects with the existing Kunsthaus via an underground tunnel.
Chipperfield’s goal was to turn Heimplatz Square into an urban hub for arts and education in a move that Zurich’s authorities hope will see the city rival Basel as a destination for art lovers.
A large central entrance hall – reportedly inspired by Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall – creates a link between the square and the new Garden of Art sculpture garden to the north of the site, which features pieces by Pipilotti Rist and Auguste Rodin.
The art is displayed on the two upper floors of the new building, while the public functions, including the cafe/bar, events hall, museum shop and museum education services are arranged around the entrance hall on the ground floor.
According to the architects, “The diversely dimensioned exhibition spaces are defined by a calm materiality and an abundance of daylight, placing the immediate experience of art at the centre of the visitor experience.”
“The project for the extension of Kunsthaus Zurich brings together the fundamental concerns of museum design with the responsibilities created by both the urban context and the relationship with the existing museum,” explains David Chipperfield.
“We hope that the quality of the architecture, its spatial, formal and material resolution will guarantee that the extension, like Karl Moser’s original building, becomes an integral part of the physical, social and cultural infrastructure of the city of Zurich."
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 4
Editor's letter: Eco drivers
Therme Group and The Eden Project are going global, on an environmental mission says Magali Robathan
AM People: Julia Baird
On why her brother John Lennon would have loved the Strawberry Field attraction and the work it’s doing for the local community
AM People: Åsa Caap
The thrill of opening the Space Stockholm digital culture centre
Interview: David Harland & Sir Tim Smit
With projects underway around the world, the Eden Project is going global with its call to arms for the future of the planet
Museums: Getting creative
How the Young V&A will aim to provide children with the creative tools stripped out by the pandemic
Interview: Richard Land
Mixing waterslides with wellbeing, the Therme Group is creating a category all of its own while taking on the world, says the group’s chief development officer
Museums: Kunsthaus Zurich completes
A David Chipperfield extension has more than doubled the museum’s exhibition space, making Zurich a major destination for the arts
Interview: Julien Kauffmann
As Farah Experiences prepares to open SeaWorld Abu Dubai, its CEO talks COVID-19, branding and branching with David Camp
Research: Making pre-booking work
Attractions are benefiting from the switch to pre-booking, but must cater for spontaneous, disorganised visitors too, says Jon Young
Research: All creatures great and small
Zoo enrichment and research can’t just be focused on the large animals most popular with visitors, argues Dr Paul Rose. All must be represented
Research: Popularity game
Research on zoo animals focuses more on ‘familiar’ species such as gorillas and chimpanzees, rather than less well known ones such as the waxy monkey frog, scientists say
Analysis: Light in the dark
A successful winter light show can see margins upwards of 30 per cent. Kathleen LaClair and
Yael Coifman look at some of the operators getting it right
Museums: Munch Museum opens in Norway
The iconic new attraction has opened on Oslo’s waterfront with the world’s largest collection of works by Edvard Munch
Mystery Shopper: Galleries & Gourds
It has transformed the sleepy town of Bruton, UK, but does Hauser & Wirth Somerset live up to the hype? Magali Robathan mystery shops to find out
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
