The Museum Rietberg occupies the famous Villa Wesendonck in which Richard Wagner lived during his time in Zurich. It houses a precious collection of ancient Asian, Australasian, and African art. The villa is surrounded by a wonderful English park with a view over the Lake of Zurich. Every year the museum holds a summer festival for the general public, sponsors and patrons, which until now took place using commercially available hired tents made of white plastic sheeting.

In an analogy to a lotus flower the new main pavilion stands as an exotic manifestation in the park, echoing the precious objects in the museum’s inventory. The smaller pavilions can dock directly onto the main pavilion to be used as storage space, cloakroom or kitchen, or can be spread out over the entire expanse of the park to create an exotic “sea of flowers”, giving a new dimension to the park.