The Fondation Beyerler consists of three parts: the Berower Park, acquired from the commune of Riehen in 1976, the 18th century Berower Villa which houses the restaurant and the administration, and the new Museum designed by Renzo Piano.

In 1991, the Genovese architect Renzo Piano was approached by the Fondation and asked to develop an architectural concept. Piano described the assignment as follows: "A museum must attempt to reflect the quality of the collection and define its relationship with the outside world. This means it must play an active, but not aggressive, role." Two years later, the Fondation was granted building permission for the Museum as the result of a popular ballot in Riehen, and construction began the following year.

The long building covers the whole breadth of the narrow plot of ground situated between a busy connecting road and a naturally protected area of agricultural land. It consists of two contrasting basic themes: long, solid walls and a light glass roof. All the external walls are clad with red porphyry from Patagonia (Argentina).

The building is based on four 129-metre-long parallel load-bearing walls about seven metres apart. The two end facades are glazed and afford a view of the garden. The building is supported by a windowless wall facing onto the road which joins up with the section of the premises which accommodates the bookshop, cloakroom, toilets etc. Piano describes this wall as a kind of "backbone" or "formative zone" upon which the architecture of the whole building is based. The opposite longitudinal wall houses a winter garden with an outside view, designed as a place of relaxation for visitors to the museum.

The exhibition rooms which accommodates the collection are based on a well-proportioned grid of approximately 7 x 11 metres, or slightly larger in some of the rooms, and bounded by two of the longitudinal walls. The rooms, which are not organised in any strict linear order, are arranged so that visitors can find their way without difficulty. Another distinctive characteristic of the Fondation Beyerle is longitudinal walls. The rooms, which are not organised in any strict linear order, are arranged so that visitors can find their way without difficulty. Another distinctive characteristic of the Fondation Beyerle is the architect's and the owner's consistently pursued goal of absolute serenity for the exhibition rooms, a serenity which is undisturbed by distracting details of technology or design and enhanced by the sensitively designed interplay between the walls and the ceiling, and the light-coloured French oak floor.

About one third of the entire exhibition area is reserved for changing exhibitions which take place in the rooms next to the collection. An external flight of steps leads from the adjacent winter garden down to the basement, which has a 311m² multipurpose hall that can also be used for changing exhibitions.

The roof construction consists of a 4000m² glass roof which lets daylight into the whole building. Unlike most conventional top lighting, this roof allows the light to filter into the inner rooms in its natural state rather than homogenising the zenithal daylight into a diffuse milky white. In addition, three systems with artificial light sources illuminate the rooms when the daylight is insufficient.

With his Museum for the Fondation Beyerle, Renzo Piano has created a work of architecture of restrained elegance which serves art without suffocating it. It is an important contribution to the international architectural city of Basel.


Client: Beyerle Foundation, Riehen
Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Paris/Genoa (design, planning of project and its implementation) in conjunction with: Burckhardt + Partner AG Basel (overall coordination, site supervision)