In the workshop there was a woodturner’s shop, in which numerous wood products for the whole city were produced. Frames, railing rods, candlesticks, billiard sticks, but also drum mallets and ratchets for the Basel carnival. From the pool of many rods, some are selected to serve as a formwork for a unique pouring stone. The load of the entire roof is transferred with a central support, which, however, eludes static logic. In the most unfavorable form imaginable, the ring, rolled from steel, makes a plea for design beyond reason and enlightened striving for utility. Dissolved and covered with glittering lacquer like a jewel, this supporting figure, as the only visible static element, tells not of carrying and burdens, but of light and cheerfulness.

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A 40 meter long and three meter deep terrace opens onto the playing field, which serves as a meeting zone and is protected from direct sunlight and rain by a large, strikingly sloping roof. This striking roof surface characterizes the external appearance of the functional building so fundamentally that one can speak of a kind of signet. Behind it, the stepped floor plan is staggered into the terrain and rests on the railway embankment running to the rear. All the changing rooms, shower rooms and material storage are located here like chambers. The 70 square meter club room inside is separated from the viewing terrace by a floor-to-ceiling glass door front. The project impresses with its spatial simplicity and the design courage to make an oversized and boldly positioned roof area the actual dominant of the building.

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The studio is perceived as a continuous spatial unit, but functions analogously to the maisonette attic apartment, divided over two floors. By developing the ground-level meeting area via a staircase into an extra-high work space in the basement, the permissible building profile – which is already limited by the angle of incidence of light – can be fully exploited.

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Thus, the columns also form the starting point for the internal organization of the house: The actual urban structure is set by the existing building – but in a way, along the inner streets, a city within the house is created. They not only provide access to the stairwells and laundry rooms – they also enable a variety of apartment typologies for all generations and lifestyles. On the mezzanine floor, the inner street opens into the entrance halls and links the domestic sphere with the urban one via stairs and ramps. The commercial spaces and the café are located at the heads of the building, which are much more addressed to the city. The network of paths finds its upper conclusion in the community room and the collective roof terrace.

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Flexibility and character

The essence of the floor plan is based on a spatial connection between the street and courtyard side to enable living through. The spatial continuity and transparency in the tightly proportioned apartments are emphasized with frameless, floor-to-ceiling pivot doors. The east-west oriented 2.70 meter high apartments are flooded with warm sunlight. The deliberate rotation of the formally abstract core of the stairs enables a diverse mix of apartments and gives a characteristic façade expression within the newly developed district of Lysbüchel Süd. The switching rooms can be assigned to the apartments depending on the stage of life of the residents. Openings of different hierarchical sizes, such as frameless doors, emphasize the spatial connection.

Sharing instead of having

In the attic there is a commercial kitchen with a public appearance, which is also intended as a meeting place for the residents. The large terrace on the attic floor and the outdoor area on the courtyard side offer common areas with different qualities. The stairwell offers additional usable space for the apartments and thus also becomes a communication space.

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Due to the two-sided firewalls, which the existing building adjoins to the south-east and south-west, almost no direct daylight reaches the interiors of the existing building. The intervention responds to the unfavourable light situation with an open room composition. Firstly, the formerly separated parts of the building are brought together by cutting a double-storey circular opening into the dividing wall. In addition, the existing structural system is overlaid by a concrete structure cast in situ, which creates a variety of situationally shaped spaces, including two atriums that lead zenithal light to the garden level. New roof windows fill the volume with a natural brightness – differently shaped openings in the concrete panes lead the light further into the interior of the house.

The concrete structure appears like a colossal table with its striking supports and beams. Pre-stressed beams allow for large spans. Concrete in different colours, smoothly plastered surfaces and slurried natural stone walls aswell as elements of oak and fir give the interiors a haptic as well as lively materiality. The historic cement stone façade retains its characteristic appearance; only windows made of solid oak refer to the new purpose. The roof is covered with slate again. The side façade is generously opened by a double sliding door. Its drop arm with guide rail extends beyond the main façade into the garden space.

Text provided by the architect.