Urban Square

Oekolampad, Basel, CH

A new public square for a community centre transformed from a 1930‘s church complex.

The design process of this small urban square was one of incremental simplification in search of qualities Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison memorably described as Super Normal. This was felt to be an appropriate response to the iconic but simple monumentality of the Oekolampad building. The small square has seven Golden Rain trees planted informally in a waterbound grit surface edged with granit setts. The furnishing combines the Burri Landibank bench – a Swiss Design Classic – with simple metal posterstands and demountable masts for event-lighting designed by Studio Karst for the project.

Client:

Wibrandis Stiftung

Commission type:

Invited competition, 1^st Prize with Vécsey Schmidt Architekten

Scale and Budget:

350 m², CHF 200‘000

Team constellation (primary relationships):

Tobit Schäfer and Sarah Berrel, Wibrandis Stiftung;
Vécsey Schmidt Architeken;
Anderegg Partner, Project Management;
Stauffer Rösch, Consultant for SIA landscaping phases 41-51.