Zentrum Paul Klee, Berne
Renzo Piano Building Workshop – B.Plattner & ARB

To house the around 4000 paintings, watercolours and designs of Paul Klee, the architect Renzo Piano set out to capture the spirit of this artist, painter, musician and philosopher. After an in-depth study of the site, he designed the building to espouse the site’s natural topography. Linked by an interior road, the different spaces are protected by an extravagant metallic roof in the form of three waves. The tallest marks relations with the outside (auditorium, conferences), the second is completely dedicated to Paul Klee, with permanent and temporary exhibitions, while the smallest is a research centre. Essentially built of welded metallic beams, the Zentrum Paul Klee was awarded the Swiss Metallic Construction Prize in 2005 for its formal language that is both complex and clearly legible, demonstrating the potential of steel as a construction material for extraordinary projects. The sophisticated metallic load-bearing structure was studied in detail with the greatest care, and the precision of the work illustrates the exemplary performances of the companies involved.

A tribute to lightness, to light, the construction seems somehow unreal. The large white rooms are separately articulated by means of suspended removable walls.

Dosing the quantity of light and transparency, the velum makes it possible for Ť the works to be exhibited in a space that vibrates and breathes, yet at the same time gives a feeling of intimacy ť. Closed areas, lit by a dimmed and indirect light, house the works on paper that are extremely sensitive to light. A part of the premises lies below ground and the vegetation laid out around a free area infiltrates between the architectural elements. This interdisciplinary centre combines visual arts, music, theatre, dance and literature, which, not happy just to rub shoulders, create an interaction between the various forms of expression.