Lokremise - Sammlung Hauser & Wirth, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

The design of the locomotive depot for the collectors Hauser & Wirth is the result of Robbrecht en Daem’s longterm association with artists and artworks. The Lokremise, or Lok depot, was not initially conceived as a museum, but as a collection display. The architecture was imagined in relation to the artworks. From the start, therefore, Paul McCarthy’s toppled studio, known as “The Box”, was included in the project and the architecture was constructed around the enlarged bronze spider of Louise Bourgeois. The walls with their typical cornices are geared to the size of the artworks on display. Since then the Lokremise has been turned into an actual art museum with its own museum activities and an arts centre, with a theatre and a cinema auditorium where films are shown. The temporary scenography of Robbrecht en Daem was torn down.
Client
Sammlung Hauser und Wirth
Architects
Robbrecht en Daem architecten
Program
conversion of a former railway engine shed into an art depot and exhibition space
Location
Sankt Gallen, Switzerland
Date
1999–2000
Status
Dismounted
Floor Area
3.800 m2
Team
Paul Robbrecht, Hilde Daem, Cathérine Fierens
Execution Architect
Trunz und Wirth