Luca Selva Architekten

Description

The topography of the Bruderholz district of Basel is characterised by a slope upwards to the south, while the overall morphology of the built environment of this quarter of the city is open. The building plot is an area formerly used for road maintenance loading and unloading and is situated at the rear of an important access road with a beautiful avenue of trees. With a steeply rising incline, northern orientation, many existing trees, and difficult access at the rear, the site, in short, posed every conceivable challenge. For the competition entry we focused on issues concerning unbuilt or open spaces and exposure to light, developing three geometrically different floors that are concave-shaped towards the outside. Diminishing towards the top, the open spaces of this footprint become the balconies. The topography is mirrored in a subtle way, with each of the six apartments corresponding to the surroundings in a specific manner. The convex forms in the interior likewise refer to the exterior environment and create very striking living spaces that agreeably capture light and sun. Executed in wood, the façade features ivory-white vertical cladding, with horizontal bands in copper. The project impressively demonstrates how a clever concept can be used to enliven a site that is basically unsuitable for building – without destroying resources through demolition – and thereby create urgently needed housing in a sought-after urban quarter in Basel.