The competition
148 teams submitted their applications to participate in the international architectural competition to safeguard the future of Kunstmuseum Bern. In 2024, a broad-based jury chose the “Eiger” project by Schmidlin Architekten (Zurich/Engadine) as the winner.
Several studies over the past few years have examined ways that Kunstmuseum Bern would be capable of meeting the expectations of a professional museum in future while also safeguarding its ability to organise exhibitions of national and international calibre. A new perspective was offered by a feasibility study in 2019: A convincing solution for the future would require that the zone under consideration be expanded to the adjacent building at Hodlerstrasse 6. The opportunity to upgrade the environment should be seized at the same time.
These findings were then incorporated into the competition programme. In 2022, Kunstmuseum Bern launched an international architectural competition with a two-stage process preceded by a prequalification round. A total of 148 teams applied to participate, 39 were selected by the broad-based expert jury and panel of specialists, and 11 of these were subsequently invited to refine their project proposal. Three teams then took part in the revision stage. The competition was anonymous. The winners announced in 2024 are the young and innovative office of Schmidlin Architekten (Zurich and Engadine), who have also previously won the Swiss-Architects “2019 Building of the Year” award for Muzeum Susch (Grisons).
“I am delighted about the successful conclusion to the architectural competition on the future of Kunstmuseum Bern. The Canton of Bern had two political representatives and two representatives from the Board of Trustees of the umbrella foundation in the competition jury. The well-balanced composition of the jury provided the specialist and political support necessary for the conception of a construction project of this magnitude and relevance.”
Christine Häsler, Cantonal Councillor and Head of the Education and Culture Directorate of the Canton of Bern
The jury
An expert jury and panel of specialists selected the winning project in a two-stage process with prequalification.
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The jury's report
Competition programme
Prequalification results (in German)
Distinctive building for Bern
The architects took the chance to connect a contemporary museum building with the old building and create an architectural ensemble that is well integrated into the UNESCO City of Bern.
Read moreThe architectural team
The office of Schmidlin Architekten (Zurich and Engadine) has experience with complex public construction projects and deals intensively with conversions and extensions to listed buildings in urban and rural contexts.
Read moreKunstmuseum Bern of the future.
In "Kunstmuseum Bern of the future. The architectural competition" we present the results of the architectural competition for our building project. The winning project and all the projects submitted can be seen in the exhibition. Admission to the exhibition is free.
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