Vantage Point: March Furniture + Architecture Pairing
Overlooking the Swiss Alps at 7420 feet is the Chäserrugg, mountain home to the Alpine Ibex and a striking structure by Herzog & de Meuron, opened in 2015. Accessible only by cable-driven gondola, the Summit Restaurant and lookout was constructed in solid wood from native spruce trees by the local people living in the valley below. All materials for the build had to be delivered by gondola, so concrete was mixed with local gravel excavated on site. Glazed on three sides, the long profile of the space extends horizontally with built-in niches for seating to take in the sweeping views.
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) with Aldo Rossi and Dolf Schnebli from 1970 to 1975. They established Herzog & de Meuron in Basel in 1978. They have been visiting professors at Harvard University, professors at ETH Zürich, and co-founders of ETH Studio Basel – Contemporary City Institute. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron were awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2001), the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (UK, 2007), the Praemium Imperiale (Japan, 2007), and the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP, 2014).
Herzog & de Meuron is a partnership led by five Senior Partners: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Christine Binswanger, Ascan Mergenthaler, and Stefan Marbach. Christine Binswanger, the Senior Partner in charge of the Chäserrugg project, has been with the firm for 30 years and has been a Senior Partner since 2009.
“We used wood in order to develop a language and materiality that suits the Toggenburg region, but without resorting to the usual Alpine clichés.”
Christine Binswanger, Senior Partner, Herzog & de Meuron
"We look for materials which are as intelligent, versatile and complex as natural phenomena, in other words materials which don't just appeal to the eyes of the astounded art critic, but are also really efficient and appeal to all our senses – not just vision but also hearing, smell, taste and touch."
Jacques Herzog, Senior Partner, Herzog & de Meuron
Download and enjoy this pairing on your computer or mobile device!For the perfect vantage point, we selected a new piece by Carl Hansen & Son, the Sideways Sofa. In her first collaboration with CHS, Danish designer Rikke Frost blends classic materials and old craft, traditional wickerwork with woven paper cord, and high-tech production. This blend reflects the thoughtful materiality and construction of the Chäserrugg building.
Rikke Frost took part in the TV program ‘Denmark’s Next Classic’, a competition for which she and the other participating designers produced six different furniture pieces in a short time, aiming to create Denmark’s next design classic. It was on that show that Rikke Frost created the Sideways Sofa in just three short weeks - and her design went on to win its category.
Frost has won the Danish Design Award and the Bolig Magasinets Design Award, and has taken part in several exhibitions including the Women in Danish Furniture Design exhibition at Trapholt Museum of Modern Art in Kolding, Denmark.
top of page: photo credit Olivier Schopfer
