Kunsthaus Bregenz, Vorarlberger Landesgalerie

The competition brief of 1989 called for a conventional provincial gallery. Step by
step, the special format of the house as a Kunsthalle evolved into a four-storey building.

Administration, café and museum shop were relocated to a separate structure in front of the museum proper. Initially we planned to direct daylight into the building through obliquely placed facade slats. Tested on models, this solution proved unsatisfactory. The best results were obtained by using etched glass shingles that refract the light before it enters the building. No matter what direction the light is coming from, it is always transmitted horizontally into the interior. Therefore, we placed a cavity above every floor to catch the light coming in from all four sides.

And now, once again, we exploited the ability of the etched glass to diffuse the light;
it strikes the glass ceiling and is deflected down into each exhibition gallery. To encourage a special form of concentration on the four stacked exhibition floors, the building was designed without windows. And yet daylight is everywhere.

Photos by Helene Binet
Text: Peter Zumthor
Courtesy of The Pritzker Architecture Prize