Siza Pavilion, Hombroich

Architects: Álvaro Siza Vieira, Finsterwalden Architekten
Text: Zsuzsa Beliczay
Photos: Thomas Riehle

The beginning of this March saw the official opening of the pavillion by Alvaro Siza erected on the rocket base on Hombroich Island near Düsseldorf. The building is an evocation but also the follow-up of brick structures by Erwin Heerich and thus pays tribute to the sculptor who designed the museum island itself. His heritage is to be treasured in one of the wings of this pavillion. The cultural base maintained on the island and on the former NATO rocket base belonging to it was actually dreamt by the sponsor of the area, Karl Heinrich Müller who died in November 2007. The essence of Hombroich’s spirituality lies in the melting of the landscape, nature and architecture here in a well visible and masterly way. A result of the co-operation between Alvaro Siza and Finsterwalden Architekten, the pavillion completed last year but officially inaugurated this March evokes the brick architecture of Heerich.

Architects: Álvaro Siza Vieira, Finsterwalden Architekten
Fellow architects: Burkhard Damm, José Dinis Santos, Matthias Heskamp, Heinz Kirschner, Steffi Zucker
Client: Stiftung Insel Hombroich
Structure: Horst Kappauf