Photographic Studio Frei

By STROH F

Traces Photographic Studio Frei's history over more than four decades.

In 1981-82, the then up-and-coming architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron designed a studio for photographer Rolf Frei in the German town of Weil am Rhein, on the German-Swiss border near Basel. The building became widely known as Project 014 Photographic Studio Frei and was revered as one of Herzog & de Meuron's early key designs. It is a space for light, shadow, and staging, constructed with great precision: architecture as an instrument of photography. Over time, it fell somewhat into oblivion and narrowly escaped demolition. In 2023-25, Basel-based architectural firm studio ne restored and carefully transformed it for new cultural and public uses.

Photographic Studio Frei uses previously unpublished images and original plans from Herzog & de Meuron's archives, as well as new photographs, to form a multilayered visual narrative about the building, its use, transformation, and atmosphere, bringing the restored space's presence to life. The book is supplemented by a conversation between architect Jacques Herzog, entrepreneur and collector Rolf Fehlbaum, and author and journalist Niklas Maak about Photographic Studio Frei's origins and its importance today, and on how a building can live on once it has lost its original purpose.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3038605212
• ISBN13: 9783038605218
• Release Date: February 2027
• Publisher: Park Publishing (WI)
• Length: 112 Pages