Fondation Beyeler: Wyss Museum, Ammann Pavilion and Erlen Gatehouse

In 1997 the Fondation Beyeler opened its museum at Riehen, designed by Renzo Piano, in the park of the Berowergut. In 2016 it launched a design study with eleven teams in order to expand; the Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner won, and the jury, which included the Basel architect Roger Diener, chose its project unanimously. In 2017 the Fondation justified the expansion by the lack of rooms suited to events in Piano's building and by the steady growth of the permanent collection.

For the project the Fondation bought the neighbouring Iselin-Weber park. The garden, laid out in 1826 to plans by the Vaud-born landscape architect Jean-François Caillat, belonged to the Iselin-Weber estate until the 1980s; in 2024 the government of Basel-Stadt approved its entry in the cantonal register of monuments.

The brief called for one large building; Zumthor made it three, and he explains the choice: “I like museums that only serve art.” The Wyss Museum is named after the Swiss entrepreneur Hansjörg Wyss, who chaired the Fondation in 2017, while the Ammann Pavilion is named for Thomas and Doris Ammann, the Swiss art dealers who backed it.

The three buildings have distinct forms and materials; Renzo Piano's museum remains exactly as it was.

The Wyss Museum adds some 1,500 m² of galleries, over three open-plan levels. Its Y-shaped plan works around the trees already on the site: a ginkgo a hundred years old, a giant sequoia and a cluster of plane trees all keep their place. Its galleries take natural light from the side, where those of Piano's museum take it from above; floor-to-ceiling windows bring the landscape inside, and large picture windows frame a view reaching to the Jura and the fringes of the Black Forest. From the terrace, an outdoor staircase leads back down into the greenery.

Jura limestone from the region marks the façade and the interiors. The exterior walls are rammed concrete mixed with crushed Jura limestone, which gives the façade a warm yellow tone; the stone appears again in the staircases and benches, in terrazzo floors and in mineral plaster.

The Ammann Pavilion, at the centre of the park, opens its glass façades onto the garden and links the new buildings to the historic part of the ensemble. It combines glass and oak, which forms its main structural frame; its interior is of cherry and pear wood.

The Erlen Gatehouse marks the passage from public space to the Fondation's ensemble, and an underground passage connects it to the Wyss Museum. Its façade, on a timber frame, is clad in stained oak.

Like Piano's museum, the Wyss Museum shows works from the Beyeler Collection alongside major loans from private collections. By day the Ammann Pavilion is a public lounge open to all, for lingering, relaxing and meeting people; in the evening it hosts concerts, artist talks, films and performances. The Erlen Gatehouse holds workspaces and the handling of artworks.

With the opening of the Erlengarten, a heritage-listed garden that was previously private, the Fondation's park doubles in size; this new part too has a water-lily pond, ringed by centuries-old trees. Vogt Landscape Architects carried out the restoration of the park.

Usual opening hours are 10 am to 6 pm every day, until 8 pm on Wednesdays. Booking a ticket online in advance is recommended, to secure the date you want and avoid waiting.

The Fondation is at Baselstrasse 101, Riehen, and recommends arriving by public transport.