Herzog & de Meuron revisit the Tate Mode

Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have built a new extension to their original Tate Mode design. In a rare interview, the duo spoke to Swiss public television about their work. (SRF/RTS, swissinfo.ch)

In 2000, the Herzog & de Meuron architecture firm converted the former Bankside Power Station in London into what is now known as the Tate Mode museum. With 4.7 million visitors in 2015 it’s one of the most visited contemporary art museums in the world.

In June 2016, the extension was opened by the new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The “Switch House”, as it’s known, is a ten-storey tower clad with brick in the form of a twisting pyramid, and takes the name from part of the former power station that the new wing of the Tate Mode museum occupies.

The unique façade of the new building reinterprets the power station’s brickwork through 336,000 lattice bricks that allow the light to filter in pattes during the day and makes the building glow in the dark.

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have built up their architecture firm to become one of the most renowned in the world, recently designing the Beijing Olympics’ Bird’s Nest, among other iconic buildings.