Kunsthaus Baselland Dreispitz Area Münchenstein

The Dreispitz site is marked by its typical ribbon structure, which largely emerged from its transitory function. Long buildings for goods storage stand between access roads and railway tracks. The new location for the Kunsthaus Baselland is situated in the middle of these typical linear buildings, where a former warehouse for champagne is available for its new use. The concept is based on the idea of integrally preserving the old warehouse and creating a harmonious relationship with a built-in spatial structure.

Three prismatic light towers, fitted between the existing steel structure, organize the exhibition area. The towers guide zenithal light into the hall. At the same time the towers create a significant long-distance effect and make the building visible from afar. The meandering exposed-concrete insertion turns the open-plan hall into a differentiated configuration of rooms with varying formats and heights. Incisions in the vertical volumes provide natural light pulses and create sight lines between the different exhibition levels. The entrance hall, which can be entered from both sides, serves as a public foyer and can be freely used as a multifunctional area.

Typical characteristic elements from the earlier warehouse, such as the ramp pedestals, the steel skeleton structure and the filigree roof truss act as conceptual and atmospheric elements to think the site’s history further and intertwine it with the new use.

The new structural volume is poured in in-situ concrete, in between the existing structure and anchored in the existing building pedestal via the three base points of the towers. The ceiling-high frame of the upper story structurally acts as a large girder in the central space, supporting and relieving the filigree truss structure.