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Dominus Vineyard's winery in Northen California (Photo by Richard Barnes) |
| The widely beloved Swiss architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre
Meuron, recently completed their first project on American soil. by Philip Nobel Coming off a triumph in London, where their design for the new Tate Gallery is under construction, and a disappointment in the MOMA expansion competition, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have passed an important milestone. The widely beloved Swiss architects recently completed their first project on American soil, a winery for the Dominus vineyards in Northern California. But while attention is focused on this new building--and a nearby house that will be constructed next fall--the team is already looking beyond Napa. In a recent interview with Metropolis, Jacques Herzog gave the lie to his reputation as an architect of soft-spoken buildings and discussed plans for making it big in the U.S.A. If you could build anything you wanted in the United States--your dream project--what would it be? A high-rise building. It is still the most impressive element in American cities. Especially in Chicago--those amazing crystalline forms rising out of the low grid. We would like to give the high rise a new kick. Does the American landscape inspire your work? We live in a country that has a beautiful landscape--the Alps, whatever--but you live in a country that is much more open, more generous in scale. You don't find one free square meter in Switzerland. In America you are lucky to have huge, empty landscapes. Did you run into any construction problems here? From the very beginning, we were not satisfied with the techniques that we found on the site. There is a difference--would you call it a different building culture? In Europe, there is an active craft tradition; in the United States, expediency plays a more important role. True. But if you visit our winery you will be amazed. |
Keywords:
Herzog & de Meuron, Swiss, Napa Valley, winery
