Former Customs Directorate at Monbijoustrasse 40

About the building

Where Monbijoustrasse and Mühlemattstrasse fork, a green facade swings in a concave curve above red concrete columns. It belongs to the head of a large office building that the federal government had built for the Swiss Customs Directorate. It stands on the grounds of the former Simongut estate; to the south lies a public park laid out in 1952.

The architects were Hans and Gret Reinhard together with Werner Stücheli. According to Wikipedia, the Reinhards won the 1943 competition, which drew 123 entries, and worked on the building with Stücheli, who had come second. The construction dates differ: the city's building inventory and the GSK art guide give 1951/52, Wikipedia 1947–1951.

The building consists of two long wings set at an angle and only loosely linked. The northern wing has seven storeys, the southern one along Monbijoustrasse six. The flat, thin roofs project far out. The heritage office sees the free arrangement of the volumes as an echo of buildings by Le Corbusier, such as the Centrosoyus in Moscow. To save money, the southern wing was built conventionally with load-bearing brick walls; it shows a long row of square windows, broken after two thirds by a glazed entrance zone.

In 1953 an art competition was held for the central staircase; artists including Alois Carigiet, Hans Fischer and Otto Tschumi each designed one floor. Since 1986 the building has been renovated in several careful stages. It is considered one of the best examples of post-war modernism in Bern and is protected as a cultural property of national significance. According to Wikidata, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security and the Federal Office for the Environment work there today. Standing in front of the north head, you can best see how red and green are deliberately set against each other.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Monbijoustrasse 40 · KGS-Inventar / GSK Kunstführer: Oberzolldirektion (KGS 00686), über Web Archive · Wikipedia (de): Hans und Gret Reinhard · Wikidata: Verwaltungsgebäude Monbijoustrasse 40 (Q19362476)