Frei Photography Studio by Herzog & de Meuron

A new exhibition at the Museum im Bellpark shines a light on an exciting early work by Herzog & de Meuron—the Frei Photo Studio in Weil am Rhein (1981/82). It is considered a key project in architectural history, yet it had increasingly fallen into obscurity and narrowly escaped demolition.

The exhibition tells the story of a building that has managed to preserve its quality over four decades precisely through its transformation.
The focus is on the Frei Photo Studio by Herzog & de Meuron, built in the early 1980s for the advertising photographer Rolf Frei. The internationally acclaimed firm’s first commercial building exhibits key characteristics of their later approach: the precise use of simple materials, careful lighting, and an adaptable spatial structure. Roofing felt and wood dominate the facades—reflecting the urban juxtaposition of different materials.

With the transformation carried out by the Basel-based architectural firm studio ne under the direction of Florian Stroh (2023–2025), the building’s history was comprehensively documented for the first time. The exhibition, created in collaboration with Stroh, now traces the building’s origins, uses, threats, and architectural transformation. Photographs, plans, sketches, and archival material form the narrative framework.

Many original documents, such as hand-drawn sketches and construction plans, were on loan from the Herzog & de Meuron archive. These are supplemented by documents from Rolf Frei, studio ne, the Weil am Rhein City Archives, and other lenders. Of particular significance is the diversity of photographic perspectives featured in the exhibition: the documentation by Rolf Frei (construction phase/completion), that of the architects themselves, photographs by the renowned photographer Margherita Spiluttini, Florian Stroh’s documentary record of the transformation, and the comprehensive tribute by Japanese photographer Daisuke Hirabayashi following the completion of the work.

To accompany the exhibition, Park Books is publishing *Fotostudio Frei*, edited by Florian Stroh. Previously unpublished images from archives and new photographs come together in this volume to form a multi-layered sequence of images. This is accompanied by a conversation between Jacques Herzog, Rolf Fehlbaum, and Niklas Maak about the building’s origins, its present, and its continued existence after it has outlived its original purpose.

A collaboration with Florian Stroh of studio ne in Basel.