When a global brand like SWATCH plans new headquarters, visitors can expect something out of the ordinary both in terms of architecture and aesthetics. Following a five-year construction period, the new company headquarters were opened in Biel in 2019 and have been fulfilling the most audacious expectations of visitors for some three years now.
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With this newly constructed brand architecture, decorated Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has demonstrated his creative artistry in combining the promise and essence of both the SWATCH and OMEGA brands in an all-encompassing work of art. Located between the new headquarters of the Swatch brand and the OMEGA watch factory is the Cité du Temps – French for the City of Time – where history, present and future converge.
Cité du Temps: Two museum levels full of the experiences of time
The first floor of the Cité du Temps houses the OMEGA Museum in which films, rare exhibits and interactive events bring the OMEGA world to life. The PLANET SWATCH Museum on the second floor invites visitors to let their imagination roam and to wander through a piece of living Swiss watch history. Both museums present experiences packed with unique specimens, true works of art and multimedia shows to delight watch fans as well as technology enthusiasts and art lovers.
Spectacular parquet staging
In the chic entrance hall of the OMEGA Museum, the parquet virtuosos from PARKETTE.CH in Amriswil opted for HARO Parquet to create a true work of art in the form of a 100m² world map as a parquet floor. The floor in front of the likewise artistically staged reception desk in the OMEGA Museum is also designed as a parquet world map with integrated screens, which was constructed in exceptional craftsmanship quality. Many processing steps were needed to create such a work of art from the HARO Parquet floor supplied in raw timber look.
Unique processing and complex milling
What is truly special about this parquet is the elaborate processing by the committed and highly specialist employees at PARKETTE.CH. The Oak Plank 1-Strip supplied by HARO in an untreated state was finished with a special surface that effortlessly withstands the wear and tear of the thousands of museum visitors who pass through the museum’s doors each year. Even more spectacular is the design of the world map. Using a type of inlaying, continents, countries and islands were milled using laser technology and then coloured in separately. What emerged is an accessible world map that takes account fully of the noble ambience of the museum. PARKETTE.CH has made a lasting contribution to the museum with HARO Parquet, which makes time especially tangible in all of its dimensions.
© Pictures: Hamberger Flooring GmbH & Co. KG, unless noted directly on the image.
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![OMEGA Museum]( "OMEGA Museum")
The first floor of the Cité du Temps houses the OMEGA MUSEUM in which films, rare exhibits and interactive events bring the OMEGA world to life.© Swatch Group / Cité du Temps -
![OMEGA Museum]( "OMEGA Museum")
In the chic entrance hall of the OMEGA museum, the parquet virtuosos from PARKETTE.CH in Amriswil opted for HARO Parquet to create a true work of art in the form of a 100m² world map as a parquet floor.© PARKETTE.CH/ Hamberger Flooring GmbH&Co.KG
Floors of this reference
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ART.NO. 524713110,90 €/m²
