herzog & de meuron stacks volumes to form mixed-use tower in basel

herzog & de meuron has completed a mixed-use development in close proximity to basel’s main railway station in northwest switzerland. the project, titled ‘meret oppenheim hochhaus’, forms part of südpark — a development organized by SBB (switzerland’s national railway company) to maximize two of its plots to the south of the station. together with the mixed-use südpark building, which herzog & de meuron completed in 2012, the meret oppenheim hochhaus helps define the northern edge of the neighborhood, which has become a dynamic area of diversity and active street life.

image © adriano a. biondo (also main image)

the meret oppenheim hochhaus is a mixed-use building, which includes a café and restaurant intended to animate the street at ground level. five floors of office space is positioned above, with the remainder of the building — from the 6th to the 24rd floor — containing residences. on the 6th, 7th, and 15th floors, large outdoor areas function as terraces for the respective apartments, or alternatively as communal outdoor gathering spaces for the offices. these spaces provide different views of the city and the surrounding landscape.

image © robert hösl

herzog & de meuron says that the form of the tower is the result of stacking volumes of different sizes. ‘the process of stacking underwent various phases where we tested how the resulting proportions, dimensions and functions would fit with the urbanistic and programmatic expectations and requirements,’ explain the architects. ‘the concept of stacking allows us to break down the scale of this unusually tall building at the edge of the large track field on one side, and facing the narrowness and the scale of the historic neighborhood of ‘gundeli’ on the other side.’

image © adriano a. biondo

‘the stacking of volumes generates a kind of topography of various terraces, platforms, gaps and other outdoor-indoor spaces,’ the design team continues. ‘its numerous setbacks and overhangs provide exclusive exterior spaces for a large number of apartments, amongst other programs.’ the tower is clad with a folding and sliding shutter system that encloses a balcony layer on all sides of the building. ‘this transitional space introduces a filter between the individual residences and the city, allowing views from interior to exterior, and a shifting transparency from exterior to interior,’ says herzog & de meuron.

image © adriano a. biondo

image © robert hösl

image © robert hösl

image © adriano a. biondo

image © robert hösl

image © adriano a. biondo

image © robert hösl

image © adriano a. biondo

image © robert hösl

image © adriano a. biondo

project info:

name: meret oppenheim hochhaus

location: meret oppenheim-platz 1, basel, switzerland
project phases:
competition: 04/2002 – 09/2002
concept design: 06/2010 – 11/2010
schematic design: 02/2013 – 11/2013
design development: 04/2014 – 01/2015
construction documents: 02/2015 – 12/2018
milestones:
planning application: 15/12/2014
ground breaking: 01/11/2015
foundation stone: 24/06/2016
topping out: 19/04/2018
opening / wohnungen: 01/01/2019
opening / platz / SRF: 07/06/2019
client: SBB schweizerische bundesbahnen immobilien, olten, switzerland
client representative: christian märki, sbb schweizerische bundesbahnen immobilien, olten, switzerland

project team
herzog & de meuron project team:
partners: jacques herzog, pierre de meuron, robert hösl (partner in charge)
project team: patrick holl (project manager), thomas rodemeier, florian hartmann, carolin meier (project architects)
ömer acar, giorgio azzariti, frédéric beaupère, franz bittenbinder, benjamin engelhardt, oliver franke, judith funke, edurne bona gallego, sebastian gubernatis, ronny huse, hendrik steinigeweg, sara jiménez núñez, hamit kaplan, ewa kaszuba, oxana krause, dennis marsch, catharina meier, magnus möschel, antje paetz, artemis pefani, bálint rigó, jorge sotelo, eric stutz, daniel schürer, julian vogt, tessa vollmeier, julian vorraro, jean paul willemse, yang yu

type: mixed-use development
ground floor: office, café and restaurant, entrances housing
level 1 to 5: office and service areas
level 6 to 24: housing, 153 apartments (1.5 to 5.5 rooms)