Herzog & de Meuron

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel (both born in 1950) are among the Swiss architects with international charisma and presence. They employ a staff of 180, of whom 120 work at their headquarters in Basel. Here up to forty projects are running at one time which are realised all over the world. Herzog and de Meuron advanced to become real star architects through their invention of the label Tate Modern in London. With Herzog and de Meuron there is no universal architectural language as could so helpfully be used with Mies van der Rohe, Frank Gehry and others. There is no office-specific corporate identity except the ruthless rejection of what is the same. Each project is newly developed and brought to the point consistent with a basic idea, function or material development. The “Allianz Arena” in Munich is one of their most famous constructions, venue for the football World Cup in 2006 and otherwise home ground for the two big Munich football clubs. Among their crystalline buildings are the Prada Shop in Tokyo and the tower next to Basel Stadium.