David Chipperfield: The architect of minimalism

The Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, opened in June 2006, sits on a rock plateau overlooking the Neckar River valley in the birthplace of legendary writer-poet Friedrich Schiller. Chipperfield fluently interwove elegant motifs of classical architecture with contemporary design. The museum plays with perspectives and vistas, contrasting daylight and artificial light.

In 2003, reconstruction and renovation work began on the Neues Museum in Berlin according to Chipperfield's plans. Together with the architect Julian Harap, the British architect developed the concept of "supplementary restoration" in which the substance of the original was preserved. Closed for decades, it was reopened in 2009.

In 2010, the Folkwang Museum in Essen opened the new David Chipperfield wing. It comprises six pavilions that complement the original museum building, which stands under historical preservation. With its huge pale green front made of recycled glass, the cubic structure radiates tranquillity.

The new Turner Contemporary Gallery opened in 2011 in Margate on the Kent coast in southeastern England. The art gallery has played a key role in the city's revitalization. The once pulsating seaside resort was coming to terms with a sharp drop in visitor numbers and falling investment. The building aimed to attract new visitors and makes a lasting impact on the cityscape

Redesigned in 2012 as part of an inner city development project in Wakefield, England, the old harbor quarters was supplemented with a new David Chipperfield museum building for the Hepworth Museum. Flanked by water on two sides, the building nestled on the banks of the Calder River consists of 10 trapezoidal concrete hexahedra of different sizes.

"Veles e Vents" — sail and wind — is the name of a Chipperfield building in the port of the Spanish city of Valencia. Erected in 2006 on the occasion of arguably the most important sailing race in the world, the "America's Cup," the building with clear ocean views is designed to resemble a sailboat.

The Museo delle Culture (MUDEC) in Milan has been uniting the Archaeological Museum, a marionette workshop, a film school and a center for non-European cultures since the beginning of 2015. David Chipperfield's renovation of the building, which formerly was a place for industrial workers, includes a glazed inner courtyard around which the exhibition rooms open up.

The Museo Jumex in Mexico City has been home to more than 2,000 exhibits by international, Mexican and Latin American artists since 2014. Founded in 2001, Eugenio Lopez's private collection focuses on contemporary art. The museum building is based on 14 supports, which merges the surrounding public plaza with the ground floor.

Opened in 2019, the James Simon Gallery became the centerpiece of Berlin's Museum Island as it provided direct access to the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum. The Berlin office of David Chipperfield Architects oversaw the design and construction phase, which lasted ten years. "The exciting and difficult thing about the project was understanding what it should be," explained Chipperfield.