Emanuel Christ
The Museum and the City
© Christ & Gantenbein and Bovenbouw, 2025
On the occasion of winning the international competition for the new M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Emanuel Christ will give a lecture on past and current museum projects by Christ & Gantenbein. The international practice dedicated to the broad realm of architecture was founded in 1998 by Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Offering insights into the studio’s evolving approach to museum architecture, the talk will explore how each project responds to its context and the specific relationship between city and museum.
In addition to the winning design for the M HKA, the lecture will present three key projects: the completed extension of the Kunstmuseum Basel and the building for the Swiss National Museum in Zürich — both of which are cultural landmarks with a global reach — as well as the ongoing extension of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. Together, these projects reflect a practice deeply committed to shaping spaces for art and public life through thoughtful, enduring architecture.
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Emanuel Christ studied architecture at ETH Zurich, EPF Lausanne and HdK Berlin. Together with Christoph Gantenbein, he founded Christ & Gantenbein in Basel in 1998. Their built work includes the renovation and expansion of the «Swiss National Museum» in Zurich as well as of the «Kunstmuseum Basel» (both 2016). Emanuel Christ taught at HGK Basel (2002–2003), ETH Studio Basel (2000–2005), Robert Gordon University Aberdeen (2005), Oslo School of Architecture and Design (2008), Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio (2006, 2009), ETH Zurich (2010–2015) as well as at Harvard GSD (since 2015). In 2018 Emanuel Christ was appointed Full Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich. In 2019, he had been head of the Institute for Design and Architecture IEA at ETH Zurich.
