In 1875, two young residents of the town of Le Brassus - Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-August Piget decided to open their own temporary workshop. Thus, they started the production of luxury watches and timepieces of the highest precision under the Audemars Piguet brand. Rare models of branded chronographs Audemars Piguet are exhibited in the British Museum. But the complete collection of the legendary brand, which includes about 600 historical specimens, can be seen only in Le Brassus.
Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet - watchmakers and founders of the Audemars Piguet manufactory
The Audemars Piguet manufactory at the beginning of the XNUMXth century
A quarter of a century ago, Audemars Piguet allocated several spaces of the old workshop, where watches were collected since the factory was founded, for exhibition. But soon it became obvious: the museum of contemporary art enjoys tremendous success, especially among collectors, and needs to be expanded. The management of the company announced an architectural competition and eventually chose a futuristic project by Bjarke Ingels.
The building of the Maison des Fondateurs museum is partially sunk into the ground and connected by a passage to the workshop. Photo: Iwan Baan
The new museum is located next to the historic building of the Audemars Piguet workshop, built in 1875. The workshop underwent restoration, which was carried out by the architects of the Swiss bureau CCHE, appointed by the customer as the general planner. The historical building is united by an open transition into one complex with a new building from BIG.
The spiral is not only one of the archetypal images from the history of time affairs and the main detail of the entire mechanism.
The geometry of the spiral makes it possible to create a self-sustainable spatial structure, to use fragile curved glass walls as load-bearing, and to dispense with additional supports. Panoramic glazing gives an opportunity to enjoy unobstructed views of the Jura mountain range. And from the sun, people in the room are protected by perforated bronze screens in the upper quarter of the glass.
The tight spiral of the new building becomes the focal point of the landscape. Photo: Iwan Baan
The unevenness of the landscape forced the architect to abandon the correct Archimedean spiral in favor of a spiral with an offset center of rotation. The building is partially submerged in the ground. Visitors move (clockwise!) to the center, sometimes rising, then falling - following the natural variations of the relief. The ribbon-shaped roof of the building is covered with meadow grass. A symbolic capsule with a complete set of parts of the iconic Royal Oak watch model was laid in the foundation at the start of construction.
At these stands, museum visitors can test their skills in time management. Photo: Iwan Baan
Rare collector's items are in individual display cases, reminiscent of astronomical instruments. Photo: Iwan Baan
The interior of the museum was designed by the architects of the German studio Atelier Brückner.
Transparent walls create the impression of a huge open space - a treasure house, where rare works of contemporary art are displayed in individual showcases-hemispheres on thin legs-columns.
A few years ago, the house of Audemars Piguet bought the brand's private collection from Marcus Margulis, a millionaire who built an empire trading Swiss watches. Among the rare examples is the legendary Grand Complication Universelle pocket watch, released by Audemars Piguet for the World Exhibition in 1899.
Grand Complication Universelle (number 6142). The mechanism was created by master Louis Piget. In 1899, Audemars Piguet transferred the brand rights to Union Glashütte, which produced watches under its trademark
The Grand Complication Universelle consists of 1168 parts and has seven complications, including a perpetual calendar, a carillon repeater with a large and small bore, and a split chronograph that allows you to measure parallel intervals of time. In pocket and wrist mechanical timepieces, Seconde Morte, "dead second", - a second hand making a jump with a frequency of one hertz, is a sign of the watchmaker's highest skill and a sign of high accuracy and reliability. These are the Universelle that have become the center of the museum's exhibition exposition. It also presents complex time mechanisms that Audemars Piguet produced for astronomical observatories, the navy and elite yachts.
XNUMXst century technologies are also present in the exhibition halls - interactive displays demonstrate the operation and principle of operation of the mechanisms. Visitors will be able to try their own skills in timekeeping and assemble the mechanism on laboratory stands, following an interactive guide.
The temporary workshop in the Maison des Fondateurs museum is open to visitors. Photo: Iwan Baan
Here, in a spiral, separated from visitors only by transparent glass, is the Grand Complications workshop, where the company's employees work on the assembly of time mechanisms. And in the Métiers d'Art workshop, jewelers are busy creating exclusive Haute Joaillerie models.
The historic Audemars Piguet manufacture and two new buildings: the Maison des Fondateurs museum and the Hôtel des Horlogers designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Audemars Piguet Hotel des Horlogers resort complex, Le Bracieux, Switzerland. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) project
Having completed work on the spiral museum, BIG will not leave the territory of the Audemars Piguet manufactory. An equally ambitious project by Bjarke Ingels for a temporary home - a hotel whose roof will function as a ski slope - is currently being implemented.
