A symbiosis between the State and a private collector

Sauerbruch Hutton have designed an energy-efficient building for the museum of the Brandhorst foundation in Munich

Text Peter Torniov, photos Annette Kisling

The architecture office Sauerbruch Hutton won the project for the new Brandhorst museum in Munich at the end of 2002, after a three-stage international competition in which the team of Zaha Hadid also participated. The museum was opened in the spring of 2009.
What is interesting in this project is the symbiosis between a state institution and a private collector. The State, in this case the Bavarian republic, provided not only the plot, but it also fully funded the construction of the museum. In return, the foundation of Udo Brandhorst provided its collection and invested a capital amounting to the impressive 120 million euro. The planned annual budget for buying new pieces is about 2 million euro. Such schemes are not a novelty in Germany, but what distinguishes this museum is the fact that its patron Udo Brandhorst has an almost unrestricted power regarding the policy of the institution and the managing of the collection.

More about the project on p.96 - 102 in the new issue of Abitare Bulgaria