Neunutzung St. Johann – Campus Plus, Basel
with Patrick Gmür Architekten AG, Engineer Müller, Romann & Schuppisser, Wasser Engineer Dr. Christoph Lehmann, 2007
This site is till this day an industrial port serving the Basel area. It will be replaced by the new campus for Novartis and provides an opportunity to offer a variety of water activities for the campus and entire neighborhood. The proposal adds a new river crossing across the Rhine in order to define a full circle walk from the medieval centre of Basel to France and back to Basel on the other quay. The design faced several fixed parameters, such as the width and height of the existing quay. The design proposes to extend the space of the quay by a continuously evolving undulation of the quay wall, thereby providing at its shallowest angle, a soft wall down to the river. This undulating line defines then the movement of the design from the neighboring St. Johann Park to the France border – a metaphor of the river movement. Among the many proposed activities in the program are a quayside restaurant, a floating bathing area, and a boat deck possibility for Novartis. Along the French side, the water edge returns to a natural state, interspersed with benches for viewing.