Kunsthaus Zürich -Competition Winner

David Chipperfield Architects has won the competition to build an extension to Kunsthaus Zürich.

The jury, presided over by Walter B. Kielholz and moderated by Prof. Carl Fingerhuth, has declared the project submitted by David Chipperfield Architects the winner of the competition to design an extension to the Kunsthaus Zürich.

The Kunsthaus extension's partners – the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, the city of Zurich, and the Stiftung Zürcher Kunsthaus – will present the winning project at a joint press conference to be held on 15 December at 10 a.m. at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Submissions were made anonymously to the international competition, which was organized by the Department of Structural Engineering of the city of Zurich, and provided the jury with a broad spectrum of potential winners to choose from. The winning project, selected by a solid majority of the jury, meets the complex demands of town planners and architects while also offering a functionally persuasive solution. All 20 projects submitted will be available to public view from 16 December 2008 until 11 January 2009 at the Kunsthaus.

The Kunsthaus Zürich aims to realize its vision of a museum for the 21st century with an extension planned to open on Heimplatz by 2015. It is to cost CHF 150 million (without adjustment for inflation or reserves), to be financed equally by the public and private sectors. The project will be among the first elements to be realized in the University District/Central Zürich development plan, of which it is a part. The Kunsthaus extension is a key project on the municipal council of Zürich’s legislative agenda.

See www.kunsthaus.ch for a list of jury members and participating architectural offices, as well as to read documentation of the project’s aims and status. For information on the prize winning architect see www.davidchipperfield.co.uk.