Basel: The Latest Architecture and News

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HHF architects has created a temporary pavilion for the first biennial for contemporary music and architecture ZeitRäume in Basel, Switzerland.

At nearly six meters tall, the installation is constructed of simple parts:  “a large drum made of bamboo poles, with a roof of scaffolding brackets.” While seemingly basic in construction, the pavilion additionally features movement in the roof portion, when blown by the wind.

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EM2N has won first prize in an international competition to design the new Museum of Natural History Basel and the State Archives Basel-City. Selected over 22 other proposals, the winning scheme "Zasamane" will unite both institutions within a single "storehouse" that will "combine knowledge about nature and culture" of the Swiss city. The elongated building will take shape with a subtle stagger that responds to the neighboring railway line and increases in density as it approaches Vogesenplatz. A slender tower will anchor the building, offering an "urban symbol" for both institutions.

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Seattle-based architects Olson Kundig have opened their "Outpost Basel" pavilion for the Collectors Lounge at Design Miami/Basel in Basel, Switzerland. Incorporating materials and cultural elements from America, Japan, Austria, and Romania, the pavilion is a “high-design space made from everyday materials,” with a design centered on the idea of contrast, much like the concept of yin-yang. Different levels of lighting, material colors, and uses of space are contrasted with balance in order to create a functional, flexible meeting and gathering space.

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Videos

Exhibitions, much like publications and films, are one of the key contemporary methods for the communication of architectural concepts and ideas. They allow the practice, curator or educative body to edit and present information and visuals in a way which narrates a story, provokes new ideas, or feeds into a wider discourse. For many, exhibitions are an invaluable source of inspiration and an engaging way of gaining new, or reaffirming old, knowledge and design precedents. Intimately linked to the space or place in which they are displayed, the best exhibitions also remind us that the practice of architecture is both a profession and a discipline; a valuable way of understanding the built, and unbuilt, world we live in.

If you're traveling to, living or studying in Europe this summer then dive into our compilation of what we consider to be some of the most informative and exciting exhibitions on show in between June and October 2015. If you visit them, or any other exhibitions that you enjoy, share a photograph on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #archdailyexhibitions.

Check out our favourite exhibitions on architecture, urbanism and design, from Jyväskylä to Milano, after the break.

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Swiss firm HHF Architects have released images and drawings for "Parking & More," a mixed-use structure and public facility for Basel's Dreispitz quarter.

An addition to an existing steel parking complex, "Parking & More" combines a parking lot with eateries, sport facilities, and shops, "creating a vibrant and lively street and a partially covered urban plaza." The project is adjacent to BIG's Transitlager ad Herzog & de Meuron's 312 Helsinki Dreispitz, forming a triumvirate of new developments that reflect the area's rapid rates of densification and urbanisation. Read more about "Parking & More" and view selected images after the break.

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Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled plans for the modernization of the Roche pharmaceutical company’s Basel headquarters. With the first tower already under construction, the overall vision is to consolidate and update all existing facilities, including a historic Otto R. Salvisberg-designed office building, as well as construct a new, four-tower research center and 205-meter tall office tower by 2022.

"The planned consolidation of the existing industrial site will eliminate the need to build over green zones", emphasizes Jürg Erismann, Head of the Basel/Kaiseraugst Site. "Instead, Roche will be making more efficient use of those parts of the site that have already been developed but cannot be expanded.” 

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Messe Basel New Hall stands out as an important urban planning matter for the development of the surrounding Kleinbasel neighborhood. The exceptional photographic work of Hufton + Crow highlights the highly modern building and optimum exhibition areas while showing how this interconnected design ensures flexibility for various events. The concentration of exhibition halls around the Messeplatz (Exhibition Square) is the key entrepreneurial aim of the Messe Basel leadership in its further development. A complete gallery of images can be viewed after the break.

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