Visiting Center Swiss National Parc
The idea of a sequence of several equally large exhibition spaces defines the organization and the volume of this building. The simple basic constellation of two intersecting cubes results in a formal logic that lends the building a pure and universal appearance. The building has a multi-axial symmetry and is based on strict, geometric rules.
From the outside it appears regular and ordered. By contrast the interior organization is difficult to decipher. The visitor passes through several identical spaces. These are central rooms with views in all directions. They are linked by a concealed system of walkways and stairs. The circuit through the rooms ends in the foyer on the same stair at which it begins.
The clear, concise and ordered exterior appearance contrasts with an interior structure that is difficult to read. The exterior shows and masks the interior at the same time.
The typology of the building is based on the joining and subdivision of individual basic forms. The size of the rooms, materials and spatial organization are all designed to make the exhibition building suitable for general use and to allow for future exhibitions. The building is made exclusively of one material, white in situ concrete. The structure forms a single organism in which all the elements combine into an indivisible whole.
Valerio Olgiati
