The new Audemars Piguet spiral museum on the Swiss Alps

Audemars Piguet has completed the construction of its new museum, designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingles. The building is located in Switzerland, precisely in Le Brassus (the location of the main headquarters of the brand) and should be opening its doors to the public on June 25th, 2020.

Audemars Piguet is the leader brand in the production of luxury watchmaking. Founded in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, in 2014 the company launched a competition for expanding its headquarters in Le Brauss. The winner was Bjarke Ingels with his design group, who set up a really ambitious project and tapped into curvilinear forms to create a spiralling structure directly out of the ground, made of glass walls looking out to the marvellous landscape of the Alps.

“You have a spiral, almost like a spring hovering above your head. It’s inspired by the element in the timepiece that stores and delivers the energy of the clock”, explained Ingels. “In watchmaking, a lot of the disciplines are what you could call getting the maximum amount of impact with a minimum amount of material. The idea is similar to this structure, and how the glass carries the entire roof over our heads….The museum is almost like an open work. Nothing is hidden, all the elements that you see are performing and part of the narrative, gently curving concentric circles.”

More than just a museum, the structure will also serve as a place of work for Audemars Piguet’s craftspeople. Visitors will get the chance to see some watchmaking live while they're in the museum and will have the opportunity to participate in some specific workshops. Furthermore, the museum will feature more than 300 pieces among classic watches and original designs.