The M+ Museum in Hong Kong will inaugurate an exhibition titled 'Herzog & de Meuron: In Focus' on September 12, 2026. This show will detail the vision behind ten selected projects by the Herzog & de Meuron office carried out in China. The exhibition coincides with the museum's fifth anniversary, which accumulates its collection in visual arts, design, architecture, and visual culture from the 20th and 21st centuries.
The M+ building itself, designed by the Herzog & de Meuron office between 2012 and 2021, is located in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), a forty-hectare cultural complex next to Victoria Harbour. The curation of the show is in charge of Ikko Yokoyama and Iris Ng, and it examines works developed between 2002 and 2021, citing examples such as Tai Kwun in Hong Kong (2006–2018) and the Beijing National Stadium (2002–2008).
This exhibition represents the second stage of the donation from the Herzog & de Meuron office to M+'s collections. The first contribution occurred in 2023, consisting of a cut model of the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed the 'Bird's Nest'. This time, the office provided over 200 process elements, including sketches, prototypes, and archive materials.
'Herzog & de Meuron: In Focus' showcases the behind-the-scenes of ten ventures, built or not, since the early 2000s. This demonstrates the office's continuous participation in the development and urban change of China, through civic and cultural landmarks such as museums, educational institutions, sports stadiums, and urban master plans.
The objects and replicas are displayed in wooden cabinets, designed for the open technical reserve of the office's collection in Basel, Switzerland, following a style inspired by the firm's own Kabinett. The Kabinett is a foundation established in 2015 by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, serving as a permanent repository of architectural knowledge and thought for research and exchange purposes.
The archive and process materials provided by the architectural team aim to give the public a perspective on how each building relates to its location, the materials used, and the cultural context. The show groups models, drawings, samples, and prototypes donated to the M+ Collection to 'offer a closer look at the perspectives that shape the office's architectural imagination,' according to Ikko Yokoyama, Senior Curator, Head of Design and Architecture at M+.
By focusing on ten crucial projects in China, the exhibition illustrates both the evolution of Herzog & de Meuron's creative vision and the broader transformation of the country's urban landscape. The presentation in the form of an open technical reserve, inspired by the Kabinett, transforms the gallery into a space for dialogue and discovery. By showing models, methods, and research of these important projects, it invites the public to explore the experimentation and decisions made in each work, from initial ideas to the final built form.
The exhibition will take place in the M+ Focus Gallery from September 12, 2026, to January 2027. The museum will also promote architectural guided tours throughout the exhibition period. Concurrently, in China, the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai will host the first national exhibition dedicated to the work of Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, designed by the OPEN Architecture office, in a 2,300 m² space at the PSA contemporary art museum in Huangpu. In Australia, OPEN Architecture collaborated with OMA/AMO on the development of one of the opening exhibitions of the Powerhouse Parramatta, the first state cultural institution in western Sydney. More broadly, the 9th edition of the Oslo Architecture Triennale will take place from September 17 to October 1, gathering over 30 international projects under the theme 'What if nature came first?'