AROUND BAHNHOF SBB
DREISPITZ +
Originally part of an agricultural estate, Dreispitz was developed in the early 20th century for goods and warehousing, and later as a logistics and industrial site. Still characterised by railroad tracks and a gridded street plan, this 50 hectare large area owned by the Christoph Merian Foundation started to change profoundly about twenty years ago: based on a study by Herzog & de Meuron, this formerly closed-off site is now being transformed into a dynamic neighbourhood of art and culture, education, services and housing.
We will begin at the northern tip of the Dreispitz, where a new neighbourhood of high-rises and large green spaces will be developed in the near future. Before continuing further through the busy Dreispitz, we will visit an idyllic 19th century cemetery laid out as an English-style park, the Wolfgottesacker. Moving along Münchensteinerstrasse and across
some of the original railway tracks, we will explore the middle part of the Dreispitz, including the Rakete tower, the Hindu Temple, and the Dreispitz Halle. Continuing towards the Freilager-Platz, a former warehousing and customs-free area turned into a centre of art and culture, we will see newly constructed buildings, existing structures that have been repurposed, art and landscaping referencing the area’s industrial past, as well as one temporary pavilion made of re-used building components. We will conclude at idyllic Brüglingen, a romantic landscape which has undergone changes from swamp to farmland to today’s leisure area increasingly under pressure from the surrounding urban development.
We will begin at the northern tip of the Dreispitz, where a new neighbourhood of high-rises and large green spaces will be developed in the near future. Before continuing further through the busy Dreispitz, we will visit an idyllic 19th century cemetery laid out as an English-style park, the Wolfgottesacker. Moving along Münchensteinerstrasse and across
some of the original railway tracks, we will explore the middle part of the Dreispitz, including the Rakete tower, the Hindu Temple, and the Dreispitz Halle. Continuing towards the Freilager-Platz, a former warehousing and customs-free area turned into a centre of art and culture, we will see newly constructed buildings, existing structures that have been repurposed, art and landscaping referencing the area’s industrial past, as well as one temporary pavilion made of re-used building components. We will conclude at idyllic Brüglingen, a romantic landscape which has undergone changes from swamp to farmland to today’s leisure area increasingly under pressure from the surrounding urban development.
BASEL AND ITS INNER GROWTH: NEIGHBOURHOODS IN TRANSITION
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