Administrative Building in Basel
The 17,800 sq m site required the accommodation of approximately 700 to 900 CIBA workstations with ancillary rooms, a staff restaurant, and 600 parking spaces. Three residential high-rises were to be built adjacent to the site. From approximately 20 preliminary design options, the most urbanistically and functionally advantageous solution emerged: square, four-storey buildings, each measuring 42 x 50 m. Their arrangement and design were clarified by comparing individual offices with open-plan offices. Two options were presented: a) a conventional office solution in two blocks with courtyards for approximately 720 workstations; b) open-plan offices for approximately 900 workstations. The open-plan office proposal was chosen. In each of the two blocks, the three upper floors are occupied by such offices, each with an area of approximately 2,000 sq m; a total of approximately 12,200 sq m of pure office space within a building volume of 121,000 cubic metres.
