Kunsthaus Bregenz

The Kunsthaus Bregenz opened in 1997 to a design by Peter Zumthor and is one of the buildings that made his international reputation: a cube of exposed concrete wrapped in a skin of etched glass panels hung on brackets with a gap behind, so daylight enters the cavity, is diffused through glass ceilings, and falls into the galleries from above with no windows at all in the exhibition rooms. The result is a building with no view out and no direct light, in which the changing weather over the lake registers only as a shift in brightness. It shows contemporary art, one artist at a time, commissioned to respond to the space, and the building's severity means it either serves the work or fights it - which is a running argument among visitors and critics.

History

The State of Vorarlberg commissioned the building from the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, and it was built between 1990 and 1997, opening in July 1997 with an exhibition by James Turrell. Edelbert Köb was its founding director, followed by Eckhard Schneider, Yilmaz Dziewior and, from 1 May 2015, Thomas D. Trummer, and for its 25th anniversary it put on an exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2022 (Wikipedia, Kunsthaus Bregenz).

What's there

• An etched glass skin - hung on brackets with a light cavity behind it.
• Daylight from above only - no windows in the galleries, light filtered through ceilings.
• One artist at a time - solo exhibitions commissioned for the building.
• Weather as brightness - the lake sky registering only as changing light levels.

When to go

All year; closed between exhibitions. Two hours.

Practical notes

It closes for several weeks between shows - check what is on before travelling. The programme is demanding contemporary art. The building overpowers some exhibitions.

Nearby

The Bregenz lake stage and the Oberstadt are close; the Pfänder cable car is east.

Key facts