The New Fotomuseum Winterthur!

For more than 30 years, Fotomuseum Winterthur has captured the imagination of photography enthusiasts around the world. However, visitor needs and the demands placed on a modern museum have changed in recent years: With a new building and renovation project, we have therefore realised the vision of a museum of the present. The completely renovated museum has been open to visitors again since May 2025.

Update: May 2025

On May 17, 2025, we celebrated the grand reopening of Fotomuseum Winterthur. After a comprehensive structural renovation, we opened our doors with newly designed rooms, fresh perspectives – and the opening exhibition The Lure of the Image.

The day was marked by impressive speeches by Madeleine Schuppli (Chair of the Foundation Board), Michael Künzle (Mayor of Winterthur) and Jacqueline Fehr (Member of the Cantonal Government of Zurich), who emphasised in their addresses the importance of the institution for the city, the canton and the contemporary museum landscape.

Together with artists, curators, DJ Chi Kuaraa and musician Priya Ragu, we filled the building with images, beats and encounters. Guided tours through the exhibition and building offered first insights, speeches and performances completed the programme – and the Crêperie Chez Tonton and the Dings Drinks bar provided enjoyment and hospitality. Fotomuseum Winterthur is back – more open, inviting and inspiring than ever.

Update: December 2024

The new building and renovation project of Fotomuseum Winterthur continued to progress. In the visitor area, final work was completed in the new exhibition hall, the education rooms with our new photo lab, and the foyer with lounge area and museum shop. The cloakrooms and toilet facilities in the basement were installed, as well as the kitchen for museum operations. Major progress was also made in areas that were not accessible to visitors but were central to the running of the museum. For example, the lifting platform for transporting goods from the ground floor to the basement was installed.

In recent months, the structural work was completed; the roof was restored, the photovoltaic system was installed, and all the windows and doors were fitted. In addition, the front building of the museum was repainted – its petrol-coloured façade, once scaffolded, has since become a real eye-catcher.

The entire building technology, including heating and ventilation as well as electrical, air conditioning, and sanitary facilities, was completed and commissioned at the end of January 2025.

The handover and reoccupation of the building took place at for the end of the first quarter of 2025. In the following weeks, the workshop, offices, and public areas were set up, and the opening exhibition was installed.

Update: June 2024

By the end of 2023, the residential building on Töpferstrasse had been demolished to make space for the museum extension. The foundation for the new extension had been laid, and the existing (brick) building was almost completely gutted. In the meantime, the following further milestones were achieved:

The timber construction work required for the museum extension was completed
All the floors in the entire interior were reinstalled
Structural works were finalised

Despite the challenging conditions, the project was completed within the defined timeframe.

Update: December 2023

In June 2023, the moment arrived: together with our visitors, we said goodbye to the Fotomuseum Winterthur premises at Grüzenstrasse 44. The building was cleared. All the materials – from documents and office furniture to equipment from the photo lab and items from the workshop – were placed in storage, and the team moved into temporary office space.

The official ground-breaking ceremony took place in mid-July 2023 to mark the start of the implementation phase of the project. From then on, we reached several milestones that gave cause for celebration:

Extension
The residential building on Töpferstrasse was demolished, and after the excavation work was completed, made way for the foundations of the museum extension. It now hosts contemporary exhibition formats.

Existing building
The existing (brick) building was almost completely gutted. In addition to spatial reorganisation, urgent work was carried out in the areas of climate-control, security and fire protection.

New entrance area
A ceiling opening was created to connect to the first floor and create a double-height foyer. The expanded, open foyer gives the museum a new sense of spaciousness.

Spaces for educational activities
Work progressed on the lab facilities and the spaces designated for educational purposes. Education is now directly integrated into the new museum’s ground-floor activities, thus giving it a higher profile.

Despite the complex circumstances and conditions, the project proceeded on schedule.

In 2017 and 2018, a study was done of the museum’s immovable property. This revealed shortcomings in the ageing infrastructure, which impacted climate control, safety, and fire protection. To address these issues, Fotomuseum Winterthur planned to renovate and redevelop the existing building. As part of these measures, an extension was to be built that would satisfy the requirements of a modern museum.

The planned changes to the structure were intended to provide space for new exhibition and event formats with an experimental approach. Communication with visitors, cultural participation, and discursive formats were to become even more of a focus: the museum was to become a vibrant place of encounter.

In 2019, Fotomuseum Winterthur brought in students from the architecture master’s programme at ETH Zurich to redesign its facilities. The project submitted to an ideas competition by graduate Adrian Pigat was recommended by the jury for further development. Sadly, Pigat died in an accident in 2020. Fotomuseum Winterthur ultimately put together a submission for the award of the general planning services, with Winterthur-based architectural firm RWPA securing the contract to implement the existing project proposal.

Visualisation of the new Fotomuseum Winterthur © Nightnurse Images

Planning permission for the project was granted at the end of 2021. The new construction work and renovation phase ran from June 2023 to spring 2025. During this time, the exhibition spaces at Grüzenstrasse 44 were closed. However, Fotomuseum Winterthur hosted an exhibition in the rooms of Fotostiftung Schweiz in 2024 and invited visitors to events, workshops, excursions, and digital encounters.

Numerous educational programmes continued to be offered for schools and groups. In the photo lab, visitors discovered different photographic techniques such as camera obscura or photograms and, within the framework of offers in the area of image and media competence, they got to know current photographic developments and delved into topics such as fake news or self-portrayal on the internet.

Fotostiftung Schweiz remained open throughout and offered a wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, events, and workshops.

Why the structural changes?

Need for renovation
Adjustments were made to meet relevant standards in safety, fire protection and energy usage and work areas were upgraded and tailord to modern-day requirements.

Focus on education
Education now plays a central role and is directly integrated into the museum’s activities, making it more visible.

Optimised operations
The museum was optimised and made full use of the space at its disposal, eliminating the congestion.

New exhibition Space
The potential for using the exhibition and event spaces were exploited to the full, with the new rooms offering flexibility and the best possible conditions for contemporary and experimental formats.

New foyer area
Enlarging and opening up the foyer area creates a sense of expansiveness, generating a welcoming environment that connects the museum activities with the outdoor space.

Transparency and openness
The building’s new feeling of spaciousness creates an inviting atmosphere that makes the museum more open and transparent, both inwardly and outwardly.

Vibrancy
The building measures give the museum an appealing sense of openness and an attractive presence that feed into a modern institutional image.

An enhanced Center for Photography
The shared outdoor space reinforces the connection between Fotomuseum Winterthur and Fotostiftung Schweiz, making the Center for Photography more recognisable as an institution.

Project team

Commissioning client

Stiftung Fotomuseum Winterthur
Grüzenstrasse 44+45
8400 Winterthur

Architecture

RWPA Architekten GmbH
Lagerplatz 6
8400 Winterthur

Project management

Topik Partner AG
Zeltweg 26
8032 Zurich

Construction management

Dürsteler Bauplaner GmbH
Rudolf Diesel-Strasse 3
8404 Winterthur

Structural engineering

Preisig F. AG
Obere Kirchgasse 2
8400 Winterthur

Electrical engineering

Marquart Elektroplanung + Beratung AG
Neuwiesenstrasse 62
8400 Winterthur

HVAC engineering

Balzer Ingenieure AG
Schützenstrasse 3
8400 Winterthur

Building physics

A und b bauphysik gmbh
Lagerplatz 24
8400 Winterthur

Fire protection

B-Planing AG
Ingenieure und Brandschutzplaner
Lohstrasse 13
8362 Balterswil

Property management

Setimmo Immobilien GmbH
Turnerstrasse 1
8401 Winterthur

Landscape architecture

Robin Winogrond
Landschaftsarchitektur und Urban Design
Hardturmstrasse 122a
8005 Zürich

Planning light

matí Lichgestaltung
Webereistrasse 68
8134 Adliswil

Planning shop

Andreas Widmer GmbH
In den Schorenmatten 236
4058 Basel

Planning offices

Büro Schoch Werkhaus AG
Zürcherstrasse 21
8401 Winterthur

Ballads of Farewell

In July 2023, we bid farewell to our premises together with our visitors before the museum temporarily closed its doors. Alongside artists and musicians, we invited the public to join us for visuals, music, and encounters and filled the exhibition spaces with large-format photographs, expansive installations, and sound performances, bringing the building to life once again.

Photographer Nicolas Polli presented his work Dear Moment, I Keep U for Later, consisting of photographs that – stored on hard drives and almost forgotten – had been waiting for years to make their grand entrance. Polli mounted the images on room-filling wooden structures, crafted from materials he found during explorations of the museum’s workshop and storage areas.

With their work, artists Sara Bezovšek, Dina Kelberman, and Simone C. Niquille provided insights into the [permanent beta]; project; an experimental laboratory at the intersection of research and practice which continued Fotomuseum Winterthur’s exploration of algorithmic and networked images and visual cultures. Davide-Christelle Sanvee engaged in a dialogue with the museum’s architecture with a performance, investigating the concept of the so-called white cube. Musical entertainment was provided by yodelling trio Heimetvögel, afrofuturism electronica pop duo OY, and afrobeats by AKUAKU.