Kunsthaus Baselland
Dreispitz site, Münchenstein, Switzerland
Competition 1st place 2015
Planning from 2016
Construction start 2022
Opening 2024
Kunsthaus
Baselland.
Overview
Client
Stiftung Kunsthaus Baselland
Architecture
Buchner Bründler Architekten, Basel, Switzerland
Team ZPF
Emil Araksijev, Heike Egli-Erhart, Silke Ekpa, Johanna Hohenwarter, Vanessa Petitto, Sander van Baalen, Christoph Wallhorn, Manuel Wehrle, Ann-Christin Westkamp
Award
Swiss Arc Award 2024 - Link to project page (in German)
The Dreispitz site is being transformed from a bonded warehouse into an urban neighbourhood with an mix of commerce, universities, housing, offices and art. It is characterised by a linear structure consisting of warehouse buildings between railway lines and access roads. The rather subordinate warhouse called Dreispitzhalle was integrated into one of these rows of buildings until it was converted into a public exhibition centre and given a new purpose.
The appearance of the hall was retained and extended with three concrete light towers. These towers break through the entire height of the hall, rise up from the flat pitched gabled roof and bring daylight into the interior of the originally dark storage space. The rudimentary appearance of the storage room remains legible, while the towers and the glazing in the door area point to the change in use. The new Kunsthaus Baselland is now also orientated towards the city with openings on two sides.
The three towers are connected by platforms and look like a concrete sculpture set into the interior of the hall. They determine the shape of the exhibition spaces and create a rhythm of rooms with different qualities. There are different visual references and perspectives between the two exhibition levels. Longitudinal walls and the interweaving of daylight and artificial light reinforce this concept.
Supporting structure
Steel trusses spaced around 6 m apart form the supporting structure of the roof, which will be retained to support the modernised roof. As no existing plans of the steel framework were available, the structure was measured and recorded by ZPF. The structure is reinforced by a steel strut, which is attached to the ridge as an additional support for the steel framework and is supported on the walls on the upper floor.
Apart from the struts used as supports for the steel structure, the new reinforced concrete structure inside the building is independent of the existing hall structure. The three towers and the new lift shaft form the core of the new supporting structure and serve to transfer the wind and earthquake loads. Along the outer walls and in the interior, new reinforced concrete walls serve both to transfer loads and to secure exhibits. A lift and stairs connect the floors. In the basement, walls and supports were added for load transfer in the existing basement area.
The reinforced concrete towers break through the roof construction and form a thermal bridge. In order to minimise heat transfer, the reinforced concrete in the area of the roof level is replaced by a 50 cm high layer of lightweight concrete. In addition, stainless steel reinforcement is used in the area of this separating layer, as the thermal conductivity of conventional reinforcing steel is significantly higher. Micropiles transfer the loads resulting from the supporting structure and actions into the ground.
The artist Dirk Koy has captured an interim status of the construction in a documentary video, © Dirk Koy & Kunsthaus Baselland.