Swiss studios Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt Landscape Architects have won the keenly-contested design competition for the Museum of the 20th Century in Berlin.

Over 40 firms – including Sou Fujimoto, Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield, OMA, Snøhetta and SANAA – were invited to submit their proposals for the site, which will be located within the city’s cultural forum complex.

The €200m (US$218.8m, £179.4m) museum will house a number of internationally significant artworks, including the National Gallery’s extensive 20th century collection.

The winning concept imagines the museum as a brick house with a large gabled roof resembling a barn or warehouse. It is divided into four thematic quadrants, with visitors able to travel on multiple paths through the galleries. A huge sycamore tree will feature in the northeast quadrant, shading a café and a restaurant.

One of Herzog and de Meuron’s priorities is to forge a connection between the museum and the neighbouring cultural buildings – including the National Gallery, Philharmonic Hall, Museum of Decorative Arts and Paintings Gallery – via a new East-West axis.

In a statement, the studio said: "The museum is the place where different paths cross, where different mentalities and worlds allow an encounter. It has several entrances, as it is oriented in all directions. It draws attention to the local collection of art."

Arno Lederer, the chair of the competition journey, said the design “eludes entirely the standard notions of how a museum should look at this place” and praised it as “unique, restrained and creating a strong impression.”

Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter and landscape architects SCHØNHER were second in the competition, and Bruno Fioretti Marquez and Capatti Staubach Landscape Architects placed third.

In recent months Herzog and de Meuron have celebrated the opening of two other high-profile art museum projects: extensions to the Tate Modern in London and the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France.