Grisons Museum of Fine Arts Extension

Picture of Words & Photography: Karin Bürki

Words & Photography: Karin Bürki

Buendner Kunstmuseum Chur, Grisons Museum of Fine Arts Extension, Barozzi Veiga, Swiss neo brutalism, © Karin Bürki. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
Gridfinity

The 4,000 m2 purist concrete cube is located in the centre of Chur, opposite Villa Planta, the magnificently ornate 18th-century home of the original art museum. The extension, by Barcelona-based Barozzi Veiga, is a contemporary take on the Palladian style of its predecessor. But instead of pomp, radical reduction and repetition reign supreme: the exterior’s sleek, inset relief panels are made up of 4,600 square blocks of cast concrete. It’s Palladian for purists. This minimalist cube is a fine example of how concrete can be made into something that is both strikingly bold and delicate.

The extension won the RIBA Award for International Excellence 2018.

© Karin Bürki/HEARTBRUT

© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut

Hardbrücke, Ingenieurbüro Benno Bennardi, M. & E. Boesch (extension), Swiss brutalism icon, © Karin Bürki. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
La Tulipe (The Tulip), Centre for Medical Research, Geneva 1975-1976,© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut, Swiss Brutalism. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
Sentier des Toblerones, Toblerone Trail, Canton Vaud, Swiss WWII anti-tank fortification line, built 1939-1944 © Karin Bürki. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
Palais des Congrès, Max Schlup, Swiss brutalism icon, © Karin Bürki/HEARTBRUT. Explore more on Heartbrut.com