STATUS
COMPLETED
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
CLIENT
Nüesch Development | UBS Fund Management | Christoph Merian Stiftung
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
30,000 / 322,920
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Situated next to the Herzog & de Meuron Foundation and the Academy of Art and Design FHNW, Transitlager is part of a larger redevelopment of a new arts district in Basel, Dreispitz. The neighborhood is characterized by weaving geometries of infrastructure: intersecting railways, loading docs, and a puzzle of linear buildings with sharp edges and staggered facade lines.
BIG converted the former 1960s Transitlager warehouse with an ‘opposite twin’: both the old and the new are the same size, born out of the same structural grid, but assuming different massing, geometry, and scales of use. One is straight, the other zigzagged; one is singular, the other serial; one is open and flexible, the other bespoke; public contrasts private while vibrant urban spaces complement private gardens.
The solid concrete building with deep floor plans and large spans had to be converted and expanded into a mix of restaurants, galleries, and apartments.
BIG’s design inherits features from its industrial surroundings, characterized by the geometries of infrastructures that weave through the city: intersecting railways, loading docks, and turning radiuses influence the staggered edges, pointed ends, and sharp corners of the warehouse’s new identity.
The extension doubles the size of the Transitlager and becomes an opposite twin – based on the same structure, but with a different geometry.
The combined building becomes a spectrum of optimal conditions – from open and flexible plans to tailor made units; from public programs to private residences; from vibrant urban space to peaceful green gardens; from cool industrial to warm and refined.
The resulting rooftop folds form a new type of ‘roofyard’ that enhances communal living with panoramic views to Florenzstrasse and nearby botanical garden.
The uppermost residential floors with 103 apartments and lofts – comprising open and flexible plans to tailor-made units – are rotated for optimal views and natural light to enter from more than one side. The double height spaces become lofts for living and working.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Martin Voelkle Andreas Klok Pedersen Ole Elkjær-Larsen Jakob Henke Ricardo Palma Prieto Jesper Boye Andersen Annette Jensen Barbora Srpkova Buster Christensen Dominic Black Enea Michelesio Teodor Cristian Fratila Helen Shuyang Chen Ioannis Gio Jan Magasanik Lorenzo Boddi Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ryohei Koike Sergiu Calacean Tobias Hjortdal Gül Ertekin Brandon Cook Agnete Jukneviciute Alexandra Gustafsson Andreas Geisler Johansen Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Dennis Rasmussen Erik de Haan Franck Fdida Marcelina Kolasinska Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Miao Zhang Michael Schønemann Jensen
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