<Administration Building Hochstrasse, Basel, 1985–1988

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Located in a nineteenth-century residential and industrial area, the small office building overlooks the Basel Railway Station, welcoming arriving travelers. The building stands at the top of a predominantly residential street that runs from the Hochstrasse to the railway tracks and in view of rail passengers on all the main lines. Iron oxide dyes the concrete surface of the façade a dark color tone and the horizontally oriented windows give it a distinctive aspect. A diagonal cut eliminates the building’s corner to make space for the street. The fifth floor cantilevers out across this cut surface and the top floor facing the entrance is set back. Changing light highlights either the black bricks in the diagonal wall, or the bronze color of the window panes in the matte-gray concrete. Eight vertical columns, partly clad in black marble, define the regular skeletal structure that organize the building’s internal space and subdivide it into separate segments. The segment adjoining the neighboring building houses the stairwell, elevator, and service facilities. The remaining segments are made available as open office space.

Date: 1985—1988
Client: Schweizerischer Bankverein
Location: Hochstrasse, Basel, Switzerland
Gross Floor Area (GFA): 2.026 m²
Use / Function: offices
Structural Engineer: Aegerter & Bosshardt, Paul Weber, Suiselectra

Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel P5919-0114R
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel DD  Blad-Image
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel P5919-0464
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel P5919-0117
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel P5919-0113
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel 20 1 1 Kopie
Diener 0597-HOC Administration-Building-Hochstrasse Basel P5919-0116