Herzog & de Meuron - The Complete Works 1 (1978-1988)

ln this period from 1978-88, a methodological basis was developed on which the major projects of the following years could build. While buildings such as the "blue house" near Basel were characterized by a nature-related imagery, Herzog & de Meuron emerged almost simultaneously with designs that were so condensed that appearance, function, and structure coincided. The warehouse for the Ricola company in Laufen, with its shell of layered Eternit panels, is exemplary of this.
Another central theme of the first decade of works is the fundamental reassessment of materials. A house in a garden near Basel was built entirely of different plywoods, both inside and out; the exterior walls of a residential building in Tavole, Liguria, are layered from quarry stones. For a laboratory building in Basel, a glass shell was planned that partially detaches itself from the structure; a residential building with gallery space lives from the diverse use of concrete. Thus, even in the early works, a pronounced interest in the design of the façade is evident.