The Collection Centre of the Swiss National Museum is a practical construction with a strong identity and sophisticated usage concept. Despite enormous cost pressure, the project was completed by selectively intervening in the fabric of the existing military structure, adopting a consistent “design-to-result” approach and implementing strict cost controls.
Block 1 covers some 10,000 m2 and houses the Object Centre. It provides optimal climatic conditions and security for storing the collection.
Block 2 houses conservator workshops and a laboratory for conservation research and materials analysis.
Block 3 houses the Service Centre, which has a central reception and rooms for registering items, coordinating loans and preparing photographic documentation. It also has a specialist library and small reading room, a seminar room and workstations for visitors, staff and external experts.
A corridor links the blocks and provides external access.
Architecture
“Collecting” means systematically seeking out, procuring and storing a category of objects and information. The Swiss National Museum’s collecting activities are confined to within national borders to trace the country’s development.
The architecture is most clearly manifested in the exterior of the complex, particularly since the interior focuses on efficiently storing the cultural assets. It had to define the building in its context while also representing the interior function. This lent special importance to the design and material of the building envelope.
Iron, and its use as steel, plays a major role in human, cultural and social development. Many of the pieces are made of it, so it is fitting that it provides robust, permanent protection for them – just like a suit of armour. Untreated iron, however, constantly changes, undergoing a gradual deterioration that leaves visible marks. Just as the exhibits are witnesses to their time, so the rusting steel facade will bear the traces of its own past. The exterior actively illustrates preservation and transience, presence and change.
The steel slabs of the monolithic, windowless Object Centre are separated by a single horizontal line, which represents the topography of the Swiss border. Although the joint is structurally necessary, it is mainly intended as a symbol of the Swiss treasures inside.
Technology
The Collection Centre fulfils the rigorous demands of professionally storing and managing cultural-historical museum pieces. It guarantees optimal climatic conditions, meets international safety and development standards, and focuses on pioneering concepts.
The energy and climate concept of the Centre, which has Minergie-P sustainability certification, required above-average thermal insulation, a green roof and conditioned ambient air in the rooms. The ground source heating pump can heat and cool the building.
The Object Centre, where the items are stored, can maintain a constant temperature throughout the year, with no cooling and only minimal heating. The building has an extremely low heating load, thanks to 30 cm of wall and ceiling insulation, the existing internal concrete structure and a windowless outer shell.
Crisis resistance was a key concern so passive systems were fitted to ensure that if the heating failed for an entire year (e.g. because of war), the temperature inside would only vary from 7°C in winter to 13°C in summer. Such a slow change in temperature is ideal for protecting cultural assets.
