Superdraft Studio
Renovation of a listed townhouse, Eulerstrasse
best architects 24
renovation and addition
Place
Basel, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Ruedi Walti
Description
Eulerstrasse in
Basel’s city centre is an intact heritage-protected street from the turn of the
last century. The listed building was extended in 1939 and refurbished in the
1970s, introducing changes to the house and its façade in a fairly insensitive
manner. The starting point for the renovation was therefore reconstructing the
original façade, which was carried out in 2017 by Superdraft Studio. As a further
step, the interior reorganisation of the commercial spaces on the ground floor
and the residential storeys above followed in 2021. The existing office space
on the ground floor was extended by incorporating the garden-access basement
and is now arranged around a centrally positioned functional core. The ambition
for the living area, beginning on the first floor, was to recombine and reorganise
the rooms. The requirements of historic preservation provided the framework of
possibilities for the renovation. The floor above, built in the 1970s, is not
listed, which creates the basis for larger interventions. Inspired by the
artist and architect Gordon Matta-Clark, three spacious openings were cut into
the ceiling to connect the living areas vertically. A wooden slat structure
varying in height binds the floors together and becomes a space-defining
element. It starts with a meandering staircase railing and is then continued in
the attic. Unique spatial sequences are created across the floors with a varied
interplay of light and shadow that allows the rooms to constantly be
experienced in new ways.