Janus, Rapperswil-Jona Museum by :mlzd

Above: the Rapperswil-Jona museum, south façade.

“The building imposes a new emphasis on its immediate surroundings and can easily be read as the main entrance to a modern museum complex” (: mlzd architects)

:mlzd | janus_Extension and renewal of the Rapperswil-Jona Municipal Museum

The extension and redevelopment of the museum of the Swiss municipality of Rapperswil-Jona by Swiss architectural practice :mlzd is an interesting example of the coexistence of historical and contemporary architecture to form a coherent ensemble.
The building complex, now housing the museum, dates back to the 13th century, when a small fortified complex was built inside the town walls of Rapperswil on Lake Zurich, and evolved over time in a fascinating network of buildings. In 1943 a museum was installed in the complex, which still retained most of its beautiful 16th century interiors. By 2002, despite several refurbishment works carried out over time, it became evident that the museum required a major renovation since serious structural shortcomings had arisen and the layout of the buildings no longer fulfilled modern safety, security, and museography criteria.

Therefore, a design competition was organized in 2007. The project “Janus”, by Swiss architects :mlzd was selected as the winner and, in 2010, eventually gave birth to the museum we can see these days. The project by :mlzd envisaged both an extensive renovation of the old buildings, the Breny House and Breny Tower, and the realization of a new entrance wing, providing additional services and exhibition spaces as well as improved access to the entire complex. The new building has been designed to carefully fit into a historical background formed, along with the museum complex, also by the narrow streets of the old town center.
The extension fully integrates with that of the surrounding wings but never mimics their appearance, actually, it is clearly identifiable as the main entrance to a modern museum complex due to both its intriguing, geometric form and its shining facade, made of perforated bronze panels.

above: views of the south façade; bottom: the view from the north.

From top to bottom: project’s drawings: Plan of the groundfloor/cross-section / the south façade.

As mentioned earlier, the extension accomplishes many functions: on three levels it houses a welcoming lobby as well as a variety of exhibition spaces for both historical and contemporary content; it also helps visitors to orient themselves inside the museum and as a starting point for a visit to the city. The double-height main hall on the ground floor can be combined with other adjacent spaces on the occasion of special events.

Natural light plays an important role in the building, through skylights it enters the internal spaces and it travels from floor to floor down to the ground level.
Furthermore, several windows provide both illumination to the exhibition spaces and unexpected views of the historical parts of the complex and the surrounding urban landscape. As a result, the addition is filled with light,  deliberately creating a sharp contrast with the dimly lit interiors of the older parts of the museum. Stepping into the historical buildings thus becomes a captivating journey in time, back into the past, and kindles visitors’ curiosity.

janus_Extension and renewal of the Rapperswil-Jona municipal museum.
Client : Ortsgemeinde Rapperswil-Jona
Architects :mlzd
Project Team: Pat Tanner, Andreas Frank, Monica Udrea, Daniele Di Giacinto, Carol Hutmacher, Claude Marbach, Roman Lehmann, Regina Tadorian, Réne Robeck, Julia Wurst, Beat Junker, Frederike Kluth.

Surface area 370 m2 (old buildings 290 m2, new building 80 m2)
Floor space 990 m2 (old buildings 820 m2, new building 170 m2)
Façade of new building 200 m2
Costs of construction (including museum exhibition) CHF 5.8 million

Photos by Dominique Wehrli (https://www.dominiquewehrli.ch), courtesy of :mlzd