The sign of Enzo Ferrari from 1929 can be read on Hardstrasse in Gellert, Basel since 2018. Niki Hasler runs his garage for the maintenance and trade of new and old high-end automobiles here, which was founded 35 years ago in Frick. Initially, he used the existing single-story halls for this purpose and also set up his own racing stable in there.
In order to introduce Ferrari's materials and colors in the showroom, which are typical for the brand worldwide, the halls were extended. The exhibition, sale and restoration of the rare cars remain in the middle of the city after the expansion of the garage, in spite of all the trends. The architectural surface adds to the seduction machine.
The prominent shop window facing the street, behind one of the old street trees, is set in a jointless frame of white painted concrete. The new main entrance opens onto a staircase leading to new offices, meeting and presentation rooms above. The 200 m2 floors of the new building are spanned by rib elements in a twelve-meter span. The rib elements rest on longitudinal girders that are supported by columns. The elevator in the center of the ensemble, which rotates on its own axis, moves up and down between the representative roof terrace of the new building, the filigree workshops and the underground decks like a motor piston. It opens into the twelve meter wide courtyard for customers driving in from Hardstrasse. It brings the cars right up to the terrace during presentations or vehicle pick-ups.
Date: 2013-2018
Client: Niki Hasler Immobilien AG
Address: Hardstrasse 15, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
GFA (SIA Norm 416): above ground 2623 m2, below ground 1290 m2, existing building 941 m2
Program: showroom, terrace, underground parking, workshop, offices
Civil engineer: Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure, Basel
Technical building planners: eicher+pauli AG, Liestal
Building physics, building climatology: Gruner AG
Landscape architecture: Hager, Zurich