Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet
The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet immerses visitors in the Swiss watch manufacturer’s past, present and future. It is situated in the historical location where the company was established: the small village of Le Brassus.
The Challenge
Premium Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet stands for meticulous precision, use of the highest quality materials and the best craftsmanship.
These values should be translated into the spatial design and the visitor experience. Creating these innovative concepts and bringing them to life is not only a magical process, but also requires a lot of preparation: from floor plans and renderings to models and planning of technical details.
Project Vision
The history of the company serves as a starting point of the narration: Visitors gain a unique perspective of the Vallée de Joux and of the history of watchmaking.
Visitors are also invited to try their hands at some of the ancestral techniques perpetuated by Audemars Piguet’s finishing experts. Visitors travel through the building as they would through the spring of a timepiece.
The Complications – The Chronograph
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
Designing Time
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
The “Universelle”
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
The Crafts
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
Design + Execution
Optically flowing transitions characterize the exhibition. Depending on the time of day and the season, the overall impression changes. Reflections and shadows combine to create a spectacle in which the course of time is inscribed.
Visitors experience the rhythmically flowing route as a flowing continuum with a composed narration. Each chapter has its own design language and is introduced by an interlude, a mechanical sculpture or an artistically designed display item. At a workbench, visitors can re-enact the technical and design aspects of this craft as well as the design process. In addition, workshops are integrated in the extended route through the exhibition and can be viewed any time. The degree of concentration the work requires can be sensed directly.
Royal Oak
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
Exterior. Architecture by BIG
Giovanni Emilio Galanello
Floor Plan
Atelier Brückner
Project Details
This exhibition is designed beautifully. Every detail was taken into account to create a high end excellence.
The jury particularly enjoyed Helios, an instantly understandable media artwork which clearly represents the building’s energy budget, a sculpture data visualization many LEED buildings would love to have as a living barometer representing their energy footprint.
This exhibition stood out to us in its beauty, simplicity, and form. As a brand experience, its airy, elegant execution reflects the essence, history, and heritage of haute horlogerie, and ushers visitors into the intricate, precise, and minute world of the master watchmaker.
This project exemplifies the luxury that Piguet stands for. The materials, and craftsmanship of each exhibit piece is like a piece of art.
Design Team
Atelier Brueckner
Wassim Melki (project manager)
Sungha Kim (architect)
Collaborators
BIG Bjarke Ingels Group (architects)
medienprojekt p2 (digital fabrication)
LDE Belzner Holmes (light design)
Photo Credits
Giovanni Emilio Galanello (photography)
Christian Kroh (videography)
Atelier Brückner (videography)
Open Date
June 2020