Ten years after completion of the research building Biopôle III, we have been granted the privilege of realizing the northern section of the Biopôle campus. In this edition of Agenda, discover our project at the interface between city and countryside – at a location where the world of science and its players enter into an exchange.
The management of Burckhardt+Partner has decided to discontinue the business operations of its subsidiary, digitalwerkstatt. Over the past eighteen months, it has not been possible to fully exploit the potential of digitalwerkstatt, which has met with too little interest in day-to-day project work.
digitalwerkstatt will still fulfil orders that have already been placed, but will not accept any new orders. The premises at Auf dem Wolf are being vacated.
digitalwerkstatt will remain a registered company. Its tasks and the digitalwerkstatt brand will be incorporated into the structures of Burckhardt+Partner by a pool of experts.
Claudio Kuenzler, managing director and founder of digitalwerkstatt, will continue to provide services in the field of digital production under a new name.
The management would like to thank Managing Director Claudio Kuenzler and his team at digitalwerkstatt for all their dedication and hard work and for the good business relationship we have enjoyed. We wish them all the best for their future careers.
Burckhardt+Partner was one of the six finalists at yesterday’s Prix SVC Nordschweiz and was presented with a diploma category award.
At the event held at the Congress Center Basel and attended by 1,200 guests, the prize jury highlighted the reasons for the nomination, in particular the company’s continuous and positive development over recent decades, its expertise in the digital sector and its outstanding customer service.
The prestigious SVC Prize business award is presented to SMEs for their entrepreneurial activities, innovation and sustainable securing of regional jobs and training places.
(Photographer: PPR / Manuel Lopez)
Burckhardt+Partner was presented with the Korean Architecture Excellence Award in the administrative buildings category for its construction of the new Swiss embassy in Seoul. The Swiss embassy, which opened in May 2019, is a contemporary take on the traditional Korean “Hanok” house that also meets the stringent requirements of an embassy building.
Together with renowned Japanese architectural office Sou Fujimoto, we are planning the HSG Learning Center. The groundbreaking ceremony for this new innovative place of teaching and learning at the University of St. Gallen took place at the start of November.
On an area of 7,000 square meters, a place for students to think and work will be built by spring 2022, enabling innovative forms of learning in the digital age. A building that will significantly shape the future and appearance of the University of St. Gallen. We are proud to incorporate our sound knowledge and contribute to the success of this unique University of St. Gallen project.
Visualisation: Sou Fujimoto Ateliers
Burckhardt+Partner has welcomed around 100 business partners to the opening of its new Geneva office in the artists' district Quartier des Bains. Live Italian cooking, good Genevan wine and rhythmic jazz music provided a stylish and atmospheric ambience. This made it very easy to hold stimulating conversations and to make new contacts.
Oliver Henninger from the company management team and Eric Proment, who heads the Geneva office, gave speeches that described how Burckhardt+Partner has been developing in Romandy since 2004. They also presented outstanding projects that the company's presence here has produced, such as the recently completed Swiss Embassy in Seoul. In the new, larger office rooms on Rue des Maraîchers, Burckhardt+Partner is taking the opportunity to continue establishing itself as a key partner in Romandy.
Burckhardt+Partner is one of the six finalists for the Swiss Venture Club (SVC) Prize Northern Switzerland 2019. The award ceremony – which will be attended by 1,200 guests – will be held on Thursday, 28 November 2019, at the Congress Center Basel.
The prestigious business award is presented to SMEs for their entrepreneurial activities, innovation and sustainable securing of regional jobs and training places.
As part of the event’s coverage, a business profile was published in the ‘Basler Zeitung’ newspaper.
Read profile (in german, Basler Zeitung, 20.11.2019)
Further information on the SVC Prize
Yesterday’s National Future Day saw 15 young people gain insights into the diverse world of architecture at Burckhardt+Partner. They asked intriguing questions and received comprehensive answers.
Over the course of the day, they had the opportunity to sketch their dream house, try their hand at a professional drawing programme and experience the implementation process on a construction site.
There are many different jobs available at Burckhardt+Partner, opening up opportunities in a future-oriented industry:
Burckhardt+Partner has planned a seminar building with a restaurant, along with a residential structure, for the Basel Mission. These two new structures join the mission building and spacious garden to form an ensemble that ensures further development of both the mission and the hotel on the long term. They successfully emphasize the leitmotif of diverse uses and activities, such as work, accommodation, community, education, recreation and faith.
At the press conference on November 14th, 2019, the Basel Mission informed journalists and clients about the new seminar building and the new appearance of the hotel, which is to be called ODELYA.
A new concert hall is set to be built in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The “Tautos Namai” – “the Home of Nation” – seeks to meet the highest standards in terms of architecture, acoustics, integration into its urban environment and public life. Around 240 architectural offices took part in the international competition, with Burckhardt + Partner's proposal ranking in the top 25.
The design features two rectangular event halls housed under a joint roof with copper tiles to form one single unit. The space between the two halls, which assimilates the topography of the surrounding environment, was designed as an extension of the park to create a kind of public space.
Burckhardt + Partner are creating the new headquarters for the Selmoni Group in Münchenstein, set to be completed by autumn 2020. The electrical engineering company is combining its offices, workshops and warehouses into one building.
An important milestone has now been reached – after almost a year of construction, the topping out ceremony was held on Tuesday, 15 October 2019, with numerous guests joining the celebrations. Throughout this project, Burckhardt + Partner has taken advantage of the benefits of digital tools. All planning processes with clients and consultants are being handled digitally using building information modelling (BIM).
Hochparterre presents 13 selected hospitals in its new special issue "Das gute Spital"/"The good hospital". Our project is also included: the Upper Valais medical center, which will reshape the Brig townscape with its striking high-rise. The bright, clearly laid-out foyer provides for intuitive orientation and connects all the hospital's functional areas. This makes it a point of identification and go-to place for patients, visitors and staff.
The Geneva office of Burckhardt+Partner will move into its new office in Geneva's art district 'Quartier des Bains' on Friday, 11 October 2019. The larger premises will allow a better structuring of offices, meeting rooms and cafeteria. With this relocation, Burckhardt+Partner Geneva is seizing the opportunity to further establish itself as a major and important partner in French-speaking Switzerland. The new offices not only represent growth, but are also an expression of new dynamism.
Visit us in Geneva on Rue des Maraîchers 8. We're looking forward to seeing you!
Burckhardt+Partner is transforming a former industrial site, right by Pratteln railway station, into a new place to live and work. In the coming decades, up to 2200 people will make it their home and 1300 will work there as employees. In this issue of Agenda, you can learn what the new district «Bredella» is all about.
On September 28th, 2019, Cantonal Councilor Christoph Brutschin and Cantonal Architect Beat Aeberhard will attend the inauguration of the new residential home on Belforterstrasse in Basel. This residential home, for 24 people who live with a severe physical disability or multiple disabilities and require a lot of assistance, can be visited from 1 to 4 pm. The residents will move into their new home over the days that follow.
The architecture by Burckhardt+Partner on Belforterstrasse meets the home residents' need for comfort and a private sphere, along with the requirements of modern nursing.
The exhibition TRANSFORMATIONS by Burckhardt+Partner at Architekturgalerie Munich's bunker converts the hermetic building with real and illusionist views, a bar, art installations and dark beds with mushrooms. In this inspiring and extraordinary environment we invite you on Monday, 7 October 2019, 8pm, to a relaxed evening talk about the values of cooperation, trust among business partners and architectural culture.
Mehr erfahrenAnlässlich der OPEN art haben wir die Räume des Bunkers in der Münchner Altstadt künstlerisch transformiert. Eindrücke von der Eröffnung, der Performance des Schlagzeugers Adam Weisman sowie von den transformierten Räumen finden Sie hier.
Auf Voranmeldung ist der Bunker noch bis zum 2. November zugänglich. Terminanfragen an: borgmann@architekturgalerie-muenchen.de
Die Doppelausstellung «Transformationen» wird ab 26. September in der Architekturgalerie München fortgesetzt.
Weitere Informationen: www.burckhardtpartner.com/raumwandeln
From 13. to 15. September 2019, galleries in Munich will be attracting visitors to OPEN art with a varied programme. We are part of it, transforming a former bunker in the middle of Munich's old town: externally through an installation by the renowned artist Christoph Brech, internally into a Burckhardt+Partner-Lounge with photographs and projections of our projects. The ground floor will be transformed into an urban farming area by the ArchitekturKulturStiftung,inspired by the earth room by artist Walter de Maria from 1968.
An unusual and unexpected exhibition will be on show at the Architekturgalerie Munich between 26. September and 2. November 2019 under the heading #RAUMWANDELN. In three rooms we show projects from our 70-year history in different ways: in a mirrored room, in a video sculpture and with projection mapping.
For the first time we attend EXPO REAL, Europe's largest real estate fair, from 7. to 9. October. At the "Swiss Circle" we will be welcoming current and future customers for an exchange of ideas.
For further information visit: www.burckhardtpartner.com/raumwandeln
We can not only do architecture, but football as well! On Saturday, August 31st, 2019, the Burckhardt+Partner team won the «S AM CUP» by Halter – the renowned football tournament for the Swiss architecture scene. With skill, team spirit and sporting ambition, our side prevailed against 23 teams and lifted the trophy in the fantastic setting of Basel's Landhof Stadium.
The new Building D at private clinic Clienia Schlössli has been inaugurated. Both its homelike flair and the fact that it faces the park landscape facilitate patient recovery. An open spatial concept and ease of orientation also generate a pleasant atmosphere for relatives and staff.
In the current Agenda, we provide a brief introduction to our project.
The VIP event in Gundeli, as the chief editor of the newspaper Gundeldinger Zeitung put it, is over: Yesterday, we were able to welcome around 500 business partners to Dornacherstrasse in Basel. Carefully coordinated floral arrangements, exquisite nibbles and food stations from different continents provided a great setting for this networking event. This enjoyable atmosphere made it easy to establish new relationships and to freshen up long-standing ones with stimulating conversation. In his welcoming speech, Samuel Schultze put it in a nutshell: "The Sommerapéro is actually a communication platform."
Browse through the photo album here
Three years ago, Burckhardt+Partner won the competition for the Riburg housing cooperative’s long-term modernization strategy. We are now carrying out the first phase of construction as project developer and architect. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Basel’s Hirzbrunnen district on 26 June 2019. The attractive cooperative apartments, situated near the centre of Basel on Riburgstrasse, will be completed by the end of 2020.
The plan is to construct a total of 59 apartments in three-storey buildings with a modular, timber-framed style. The floor plans allow for a flexible use of space. The project will consist mainly of 4½- to 5½-room apartments ideally suited to families, but will also include 2½- to 3½-room apartments. The exterior spaces will be enhanced with an attractive open-space concept: the neighbourhood’s residents can look forward to spacious garden seating areas, balconies and animated courtyards.
Read more about the project
Read more in the Riburg housing cooperative press release
The "Swiss hanok" in the middle of Seoul's densely populated high-rise neighborhood New Town catches the eye: Switzerland's new embassy building takes old Korean building culture into the future. In this edition of Agenda, our leading architects give the low-down on what a hanok is, what the Swiss version from Burckhardt+Partner looks like, and how one goes about building in South Korea when based in Switzerland.
In the coming decades, the new district "Bredella" is to be built right by Pratteln railway station for up to 2200 residents and around 1300 workers. On the site formerly occupied by Buss AG and Rohrbogen AG, Burckhardt+Partner is planning a groundbreaking urban development project for a new attractive place to live and work, in keeping with the times.
The ideas for transforming this industrial area into a modern district in central Pratteln redefine the locality: The interplay of various buildings with different possible uses produces a new urban space that is multifaceted in what it offers. Newly formed public open spaces provide a fixed structure for orientation of traffic flows, construction and infrastructure. In the course of the urban planning, which is based on the existing structures, two historical industrial halls are to be preserved and shall take on new significance, as buildings that create a sense of identity and have uses that serve the neighborhood.
The planning of this new district is oriented toward a holistic sustainability concept. Implementation of the 2000-watt guidelines, internal densification of the housing development area, and a sustainable mobility concept are all pursued.
The Pratteln railway station area is evolving into a diverse and attractive place to live and work. With its location directly by the station, "Bredella" is playing a key role and interconnecting the various development zones.
The Swiss Embassy by Burckhardt+Partner in Seoul, South Korea, was opened on May 17th. The official inauguration was celebrated in the presence of high-ranking officials from Switzerland and South Korea, along with friends of the embassy. Our architectural office won the open competition for the new Swiss embassy building seven years ago. We are proud to have created an image of Switzerland abroad with this project.
The embassy building is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Korean courtyard house, which has now almost disappeared from the city center. The embassy building serves as a symbol for integration and openness, for that which is native and that which is foreign, as well as for the urban space and the diplomatic space.
On the weekend of May 18th/19th, 2019, over 400 people visited the architectural office Burckhardt+Partner on Dornacherstrasse in Basel. Those who took part in the ten guided tours through the office included many professional colleagues, but also families, who seized the opportunity offered by Open House Basel for a shared weekend activity.
Architects often refrain from building for themselves, but Burckhardt+Partner has dared to do just that, enabling a large additional space to be obtained on the first floor and a heightening of the roof terrace on the upper floor. There was great interest in the converted rooms and in the explanations of the architectural design. The architects from Burckhardt+Partner were also enthused: "Presenting our company in this setting is terrific. It conveys more clearly that working in these rooms is a privilege." The visitors were able to sense and share the architects' appreciation of their workplace.
After the guided tour, the Burckhardt+Partner subsidiary digitalwerkstatt used practical examples to explain how architects' ideas are turned into reality with the aid of digital fabrication. Open House Basel was once again an authentic occasion with impressive resonance, and a valuable platform for Burckhardt+Partner.
The new production and office building for F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG has been in operation since May. This building, planned by Burckhardt+Partner, is situated in a central location on the Roche campus in Kaiseraugst.
The facade is clear and homogeneous, while the building's interior is characterized by technical complexity – because this is where small-molecule medicines (pharmaceuticals containing low-molecular-weight substances) are prepared and commercialized under clean-room conditions.
Burckhardt+Partner has created a building with a flexible structure that allows production processes to be adjusted at any time. It confidently provides a representative introduction to the production buildings on the campus.
The University Hospital Basel (UHB) Health Campus is to see further construction. The UHB wishes to prepare itself optimally for future developments, so the hospital invited seven offices, including Burckhardt+Partner, to complete a study contract. Herzog & de Meuron won the competition.
Our design for the new Perimeter B structure aims to reinforce, extend and connect the campus's various open spaces on an urbanistic level in particular, but also to form an ensemble in a triad with the two neighboring towers. The homogeneous architectural expression causes the two sections (base and tower) of the new structure on the perimeter of the former town wall to merge.
Read more
B+P Reiner Becker GmbH, our Berlin office, has won 1st prize in the "Bartholomäusspital" realization competition commissioned by the town of Hollfeld in Germany.
The task was to plan the renovation, conversion and extension of a heritage-protected hospital building, constructed in 1464, along with its garden.
For our team, the challenge was to establish a strong link between the pre-existing building and the hospital garden. For this purpose, the garden is to be raised to the level of the building, so as to generate a ground-level transition with minimal intervention. A multifunctional pavilion in solid wood is to be built, creating an additional link to the pre-existing building by means of its materiality. Geothermal energy is to be used for operation of the hospital and new pavilion.
"It takes more than walls, roofs and books to educate a child – it takes a community." For Burckhardt+Partner, this African proverb provided the basic principle for the Benga Parish New Secondary School, and the motivation to take part in the competition. A settlement that represents development and growth. A village that embraces its residents. A community and a school that face each other and grow together. We are not just constructing a building, but an entire village.
Proceeding along these lines, Burckhardt+Partner designed this school in Benga, Malawi, and planned a complete little village for the children in this Southeast African country, one of the poorest in the world. This is an agglomeration of different uses, with all elements built in the same way: classrooms, dormitories and houses. They all arise from variations on, or combinations of, a single structural unit. A unit that incorporates and respects local tradition and circumstances.
The planned houses are made of locally manufactured clay bricks. Rainwater is collected in cisterns. Photovoltaic systems on the light metal roofs generate electricity. The ventilation functions in a simple and energy-efficient way: cool fresh air circulates through open windows, while the warm air flows out through the open roof structure.
500 architectural offices from 71 countries took part in this international competition. The competition project from architectural office Burckhardt+Partner was named among the 50 finalists!
The second "Open House Basel – Architecture for Everyone" will incorporate the Gundeldingen neighborhood more strongly. Burckhardt+Partner expanded and converted its headquarters here four years ago, and is now opening its doors for a weekend.
The new rooms on the first floor, with a fully glazed facade, make it possible to obtain insight into the architects' work. Here, the concrete structure of the former store premises was exposed, creating a workshop atmosphere. The upper floor presents itself quite differently: the extensions and the heightening of the roof terrace were realized in wood. New interior courtyards with fig trees and a library have a character-enhancing effect.
Open House Basel / Burckhardt+Partner, Dornacherstrasse 210
Sat/Sun, May 18th/19th, 10 am – 2 pm
As architects and shapers of our environment, we at Burckhardt+Partner have a special responsibility to contribute toward an intact world worth living in – for people alive today, as well as for future generations. This is why sustainable construction is an important aspect for our company, anchored within our policy.
In the "Fokus" supplement from the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, read how Burckhardt+Partner has put sustainability into practice in three projects.
Our architects in Berlin, B+P Reiner Becker GmbH, have won the EU-wide competition for the new teaching and learning center at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden.
The jury praised the winning design, saying it presents a building that has a workshop-like nature and really invites students to communicate. The inner structure and division of space in this compact new four-story building with 3900m² of utilizable area offer very high flexibility. Here, students from various disciplines will find excellent conditions for learning.
The new teaching and learning center will enrich academia in Wiesbaden.
The multi-stage full-service competition's winning project was presented during today's press conference at Aarau Cantonal Hospital (KSA). The "Dreiklang" (Triad) project, submitted by the team from Burckhardt+Partner AG and wörner traxler richter, was named the winner by the KSA Board of Directors, confirming the competition jury's decision.
Dreiklang – three dimensions in harmony. The building is divided into three main sections: outpatient clinics, functional areas and inpatient wards. In turn, as the centerpiece of the building, a four-story boulevard flooded with light connects the various usage zones. Short routes for staff, patients and visitors guarantee functioning workflows. The enlarged and redesigned hospital park aids the healing process.
Along with the whole planning team, we look forward to continuing our work on this fascinating and multifaceted project.
Read more
Press release KSA
Article Aargauer Zeitung
Our Berlin office, B+P Reiner Becker GmbH, has been given the task of building an extension for the renowned Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany.
The institute, situated on Martin Luther University's Weinberg campus in Halle an der Saale, is to be redensified. For the institute's building, an extension structure is to be built, including physics-oriented and technical laboratory areas, experimentation areas with clean rooms, and offices. The research conducted at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics provides new findings in complementary multidisciplinary research fields from the domains of solid state physics, material sciences, information technology, photonics and neurophysics.
We look forward to this complex and fascinating task, and congratulate the team!
The ground-breaking ceremony for the laboratory building to be newly built at Aarau Cantonal Hospital (KSA) was held on April 4th, 2019. In this new laboratory building, the Institute of Pathology, with its autopsy department, and the Institute of Laboratory Medicine will be brought under one roof, enabling improvement of operational processes and utilization of synergies.
The architectural office Burckhardt+Partner has planned a flexible-use laboratory building for around 200 staff, with a modular building structure that can promptly respond to future changes.
Completion of the KSA laboratory building is scheduled for 2021.
Press release KSA
Factsheet
This is what we are good at: together with our clients, we develop ideas and put them into practice.
The new SKAN headquarters are a prime example: Burckhardt+Partner guided the whole process, from the planning to the site evaluation, right through to the search for investors.
Agenda 102
The tendering procedure for realization of the Department of Biomedicine's new replacement building is finished: The University of Basel is awarding us the contract to proceed with this work. We already realized the building's predecessor, the so-called Biozentrum, back in 1972. The University of Basel is convinced that we will successfully manage and implement this architecturally high-quality and technically complex project.
Press release
Tomorrow we are in Cannes, France, at the MIPIM - one of the biggest property fairs worldwide.
20,000 visitors are meeting up with architects, urban planners, finance institutes, estate agents and delegates of cities and regions from all over the world. Our Western Switzerland offices are present at region geneva's stand.
For what is now already the eleventh time, the Burckhardt+Partner Bern winter reception has been held on the premises of the Westside Bern Brünnen cinema. Oliver Schmid from the company management gave a presentation that guided the approximately 150 invited guests through national and international architectural projects from the impressive portfolio of all Burckhardt+Partner branches in Switzerland and Germany.
Digitization was the central theme, which served as a common thread throughout the event. Be it with an edible spread for appetizers from the 3D printer, or with two impressive speeches on digital fabrication, the interaction between digital technologies and traditional artisanry was successfully demonstrated. On the basis of the Pocket Park project, Claudio Künzler, CEO at the Burckhardt+Partner subsidiary digitalwerkstatt, explained the generative calculation of soil structure for the reshaping of the site in Kaiseraugst. In reference to practical examples, ETH Zurich researcher Matthias Bernhard illustrated how architecture today can be "programmed".
Browse through the photo album!
Under the motto "Swiss architecture from 1920 to today", the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) has set up an online architecture library. All students at the HSLU School of Architecture and Institute of Interior Architecture are involved in this academic project. The library is an image database and encyclopedia, which will constantly keep growing. At present, its focus is still on the region Central Switzerland: Burckhardt+Partner is represented by the Roche high-rise in Rotkreuz.
Link to the online architecture library
On Saturday, February 9th, 2019, from 10 am to 4 pm, the hospital Spital Thun is to hold an open day, enabling the general public to take a first look at the comprehensive renovation work that began last year. On the tour, visitors can now view the first in-patient ward, as well as the intensive care ward. These wards were installed as a wooden extension structure on the terrace of the pre-existing first floor. The other three floors are also to be converted while the facility is in operation, which poses a major organizational challenge. They are expected to be finished by 2022. The client, and Burckhardt+Partner as architects and hospital planners, will attend the open day in person and gladly answer any questions.
"Cooperative residential construction is about providing a platform for life – and is not an end in itself," says Andreas Herbster, Managing Director of Wohnstadt Basel. What constitutes a good platform?
In our Agenda 101, you can learn more about the new “Am Bachgraben” construction in an interview.
On Thursday, November 8th, our BIM experts will be speaking and answering questions at Congress Center Basel. They will provide insight into projects and explain their experiences with digital collaboration.
On the following day at 2:30 pm, our specialists Philipp Seer, Head of BIM, and Oana Bucerzan, Head of Digital Lab, will be giving a presentation called "From the Sketch to Digital Fabrication", to explain that, even in the age of digital transformation, the architectural concept is still the basis for good architecture.
One hour later, at 3:30 pm, the project team will report on everyday work in practice with new tools and options, taking the Upper Valais medical center in Brig as an example.
On October 24, a groundbreaking ceremony saw the start of the construction phase for SKAN AG’s new building in Allschwil, in the presence of prominent representatives from business and politics such as cantonal councilor Dr. Pegoraro.
SKAN AG is a market leader in cleanroom equipment and the construction of isolators for the pharmaceutical industry. Suva made an appearance as an investor in the construction project.
Four above-ground storeys will house fittings, the in-house SKAN Academy, a laboratory and office space. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2020.
Find out more about the project here.
According to our most recent customer survey, it seems that, even in the age of digital inundation, content counts and the haptic quality of a paper leaflet has not lost its appeal.
After 25 years, the quarterly insight into life at our company and into our projects is still one of the post popular elements of our communications. 99 agendas, 99 brief glances at the latest goings-on: in retrospect, they have become a diary covering 25 years in the history of our sector and company – a diary that we have browsed through for you, to celebrate the 100th issue.
Agenda 100
Links Agenda 100
Digital Lab / digitalwerkstatt / Virtual Reality / digital fabrication
All these terms belong to the topic digitalization. Find the Interview with our member of the company management Wolfgang Hardt.
Virtual realities, one-to-one conversations and excellent catering made this year's summer apéro another successful event, despite the already autumnal temperatures.
Browse through the photo album here.
In Hamburg's HafenCity, preparatory work for an extraordinary project is getting underway: the German prototype of the so-called Hex House. Within eyeshot of the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, a structure that can provide living space very quickly and with simple means is being built for the refugee aid association Flüchtlingshilfe HafenCity e.V. The houses' concept and design come from the non-profit organization Architects for Society, which is registered in the US.
Our associate Stephan Wedrich is a member of this organization: «Thanks to active crowdfunding, material sponsoring and the support of many individuals, we managed to realize the first prototype for our project in the US, in September 2017. Just a year later, once again thanks to support from many parties, we are building prototype 3.0 here in Hamburg. This prototype's conceptual progression is particularly pleasing. This new generation is a modular timber frame construction, and the house can be assembled and disassembled with just one tool.»
Architects for Society
WebCam
Oliver Henninger, who joined us over 10 years ago, has succeeded Philipp Brühlmeier as a member of the company management team as of July 1st, 2018. With over 20 years of professional experience in Switzerland and abroad, he has all the skills necessary to master his new tasks. The board of directors and the company management team look forward to working with Oliver Henninger and wish him a successful start!
Ten years after completion of the research building Biopôle III, we have been granted the privilege of realizing the northern section of the Biopôle campus. In this edition of Agenda, discover our project at the interface between city and countryside – at a location where the world of science and its players enter into an exchange.
We acquired the basel-based digitalwerkstatt GmbH at the beginning of June. This is part of a move to further expand our digital expertise and set new standards in digital planning and construction-related services. digitalwerkstatt is an interdisciplinary team of designers, material specialists and 3D printing experts founded by Claudio Kuenzler in 2010 to bridge the gap between creativity and industry. It offers services in digital design and digital fabrication with 3D printing, laser cutting, 3D industrial scans, design, architecture, advertising, research and medicine, physical models, prototypes, individual productions, small-batch productions and design objects. We look forward to collaborating on new projects!
On 6/19/2018, the Muttenz municipal assembly approved the new neighborhood planning provisions for the Hagnau/Schänzli area in their entirety. A clear majority of the voters in attendance (220 yes, 60 no, 12 abstentions) thus accepted the proposal, which is based on a cooperative planning process over several years. Alongside us as architects, the municipality, the site owners, the various communal and cantonal partners, and the local population were involved. This broad-based approach and the carefully coordinated solutions for the Hagnau West, Hagnau East and Schänzli sites convinced those attending the municipal assembly. The new neighborhood plan envisages six harmonized high-rises on the Hagnau sites, with a broad and dense mix of uses. The Schänzli site will remain undeveloped and is to be converted into a nature, leisure and recreation area beside a revitalized Birs River. We are now looking forward to the further development of the East site, commissioned by HRS Real Estate AG.
The participation in SIA Days with the International School of Berne was a success! We are delighted that interested visitors seized the opportunity to take a look at this private school`s new building on June 16th and 17th.
Represented by the client PSP Swiss Property, we have received the Faktor-5 Jury Prize, funded by Stokar+Partner AG.
For over ten years, sun21 has been awarding this prize as a way of honoring outstanding contributions to sustainable resource management and toward achieving the goals of the 2000-watt society.
For the extension of Bellikon Rehabilitation Clinic, the clients set three main objectives: to provide additional space, to develop a modern architectural solution, and to realize a building complex that is future-oriented in terms of technology and sustainability. You can learn more about it in the new Agenda.
The inauguration will be celebrated with an "open day" on Saturday, June 16th, 2018 – perhaps you will have a chance to attend.
Sonderagenda
On June 1st, with due ceremony, we said farewell to Peter Epting, previously Chairman of the Board of Directors, after an outstanding 50-year career at Burckhardt+Partner AG.
He was passionate about residential construction and helped it to flourish again at Burckhardt+Partner after a long period of stagnation. He also saw the potential of project development at an early stage and promoted it accordingly.
Today, project development is a key cornerstone of our success.
Thank you very much, Peter!
In Witikon, we are constructing 26 appartments in four compact buildings for the Vinzenz-Community.
The topping-out ceremony for the project that includes appartments for students was celebrated last friday, march 25.
The project is to be handed-over by the end of 2018.
http://wohnen-in-der-looren.ch
We will have the pleasure of renovating Collège Rousseau in Geneva and increasing its height, as well as adding an approximately 40,000 m2 extension to the Biopôle campus in Epalinges.
Collège Rousseau is situated in the Genevan neighborhood of Petit Sacconex and was built in 1969 by architect Alain Ritter. Our added floor is more of a lengthening of the top floor: a new wooden structure with a facade of prefabricated concrete elements incorporates the existing facade's motifs. This new story is devoted to science, with laboratories and a multi-purpose room. A new cafeteria is to be created on the "bel étage" and connected to the courtyard; a new documentation center is to be installed on the basement floor. On all floors, the classrooms are to be rearranged and renovated.
In Epalinges, we will complete the Biopôle site together with general contractor HRS. The competition was held by the Canton of Vaud and Biopôle SA (for whom we already built a laboratory building on the same site in 2010).
The construction project is divided into four sections and encompasses the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) Center for Personalized Medicine and Immune Engineering, the Biopôle Research Center, and a parking garage with 525 parking spaces, as well as public functions, such as reception, children's day care center, restaurant, café and fitness center, which are to be accommodated in smaller "edicules".
The first Open House Basel was a resounding success and we were there with our project Grosspeter Tower.
Over 400 visitors took a look at this tower with its unique solar facade and enjoyed the view from the 22nd floor.
The SRF radio report from May 5th can be heard here.
Another prize for our Grosspeter Tower: we have secured 3rd place at thePrixforix facade awards.
We are delighted to have won the competition for the extension of Clinic Birshof in Münchenstein.
It is envisaged that the new building will encompass the in-patient wards and the expansion of surgical capacity, along with the associated diagnostic and gastronomy units.
Welcome to the “third place"! Shopping and entertainment in high-quality architectural surroundings as a recipe for success in a very competitive market? Learn more about the Mall of Switzerland, Switzerland's newest shopping and leisure center.
Agenda 98
On February 22nd, the team at Burckhardt+Partner Bernewelcomed around 130 guests to the 10th Winterapéro at Cinémas Pathé Westside.After views of icy depths on routes otherwise only known to meltwater, as provided by Dominik Osswald's team of photographers, journalists and mountaineers, there was once again an opportunity for fascinating conversations, as well as personal impressions from the interior of Plaine Morte Glacier through the VR headset.
Browse through the photo album!
In a procedure conducted according to the German Public Procurement Ordinance (VgV), our Berlin office B+P Reiner Becker has been awarded the contract for "renovation and conversion of the cleanser building" on the site of the former Augsburg-Oberhausen gasworks. The gasworks' so-called "cleanser building" is to be transformed into a place of culture and music, providing rooms for non-professional musicians and visual artists.
To this end, comprehensive renovation and conversion work is necessary. We are delighted to have been given this fascinating task!
On February first, the "last beam" ceremony was held at our embassy construction site in Seoul. This typical Korean ritual was celebrated in the presence of numerous VIPs, including Switzerland's ambassador to South Korea. Much like the topping-out ceremonies common in our part of the world, where a tree is involved, the installation of the highest wooden beam marks the completion of the structural work and the transition to the fit-out phase.
In 2012, our Lausanne office won the open competition for the new Swiss embassy building in South Korea. The construction in Seoul will be completed during the course of this year.
We have been awarded the contract for the first section of the Riburg housing cooperative's new replacement buildings in Lesser Basel (Hirzbrunnen district). A total of 59 family-friendly apartments are to be built from 2019 onward, with 2 ½ to 5½ rooms each and attractive outdoor areas.
Read more
On Friday, January 26th, we celebrated the inauguration of NEONEON by Jahic/Roethlisberger with around 100 invited guests. The neon-installation is now displayed permanently on our Basel premises and can be seen during our office hours.
The photo album from the preview can be found here, further information in the brochure NEONEON.
On Friday 1/26, a special kind of event will take place in Burckhardt+Partner's Basel office: we are inaugurating the installation NEONEON by artist duo Jahic/Roethlisberger. This installation was created on site for our entrance zone. We look forward to raising our glasses to it, together with invited guests and the two artists themselves!
Jahic/Roethlisberger live and work in Basel. Alongside neon tubes, they work with lines, glass, synthetic resin and, frequently, with contingency.
On November 30th in Wiesbaden, the Academy of the Hessian Chamber of Architects and Urban Planners (AKH) hosted a series of lectures called "New Developments in Hospital Construction".
Wolfgang Hardt, Member of the Management Board, took part. As a speaker, he presented our expertise in the healthcare sector to an audience of interested professionals in his lecture "Innovative Hospital Construction – Quality as a Performance Guarantee". You will find more information on the series of lectures here:Tagungsreihe «Neue Entwicklungen im Krankenhausbau»
Three high-rise buildings shown on the front of Agenda 97 characterize Basel's skyline: Grosspeter Tower, which was only recently completed, BIS Tower from the 1970s, and the Lonza high-rise, built in 1962.
Around 40 years on from the new building for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), we as the architects behind Grosspeter Tower are now responsible for another striking urban feature.
You can learn more about it in the new Agenda.
The Swiss Sustainable Building Council (SGNI) is to present the SGNI/DGNB certificate in gold to our project Flor in Uster!
The certificate will be handed over on January 17th at Swissbau 2018.
SGNI is a non-profit association with the goal of promoting the sustainability of real estate and the built environment in
Switzerland throughout the entire life cycle – in planning, construction, operation and utilization.
The Mall of Switzerland opens on 8th November 2017. It features approx. 65,000 square metres of retail, food and leisure space and is the second largest shopping center in Switzerland.
A key aim was to create a unique meeting place for the whole family with a catchment area spreading far further than just the region of central Switzerland.
Visitors can enjoy a high quality shopping experience enriched by a variety of fun food and leisure opportunities including the largest IMAX cinema in the country, a 12-screen multiplex cinema, a unique Kids Land based on Swiss themes and developed by leisure specialists The Leisure Way, the first indoor surfing wave in Switzerland and a gym & spa.
Another distinction for our Grosspeter Tower: In the competition for the Bavarian architectural award "Building-Integrated Solar Technology 2017", over 100 projects from 26 countries were submitted. Our project made it into the top 10!
Grosspeter Tower has won a Swiss Solar Prize in the category "New Buildings"! The surface of the tower's facade comprises 450 photovoltaic elements that serve to generate electricity for the building.
In Aesch, 14 rental apartments and commercial premises commissioned by the civic community, plus 22 owner-occupied apartments commissioned by our subsidiary AG für Planung und Überbauung, are being built on the Hübeli site. On Thursday, October 19th, 2017, the topping-out ceremony for the new housing development Hübeli was celebrated with numerous guests.
On 27 October the BIM-Camp 2017 will take place in the Maag Event Hall in Zurich. Our BIM-specialists will take part together with our partners from Losinger Marazzi AG.
At 5 p.m. they will report on their practical experiences with the benefits of 3D-modeling and information flows in the various stages of the project, using the Cery-project (new laboratory building) as an example.
The complete programme and registration details are given on this webpage: www.bimcamp.ch
In Gümligen, south of the city Berne, we had the opportunity to attend to a special task: a new building for the International School of Berne. In our latest issue of Agenda, you can find out how we met the specific requirements of this place of learning and work, which serves around 400 pupils from over 50 countries.
After just eleven months of construction work, the building shell of our new LSL building was ceremoniously completed today, 9/19/2017. This production building for F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG at the Kaiseraugst site is scheduled to be finished by the 1st quarter of 2019. The process of putting the "Late Stage Development and Small Molecules Launch Facility" (LSL) into operation will then begin. Low-molecular-weight substances will be developed and commercialized here later.
Fascinating conversations and excellent catering were enjoyed in our Basel office at this year's summer reception.
Take a look back on the evening by browsing through our photo album.
At the «Am Bachgraben» site on the edge of Basel, 68 cooperative apartments are being built.
The newly constructed 1-room and 4½-room apartments can be rented from December 1st, 2017, onward.
Situated near the open-air swimming facility Gartenbad Bachgraben, the spacious apartments offer magnificent views toward Jura, the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest.
Every Thursday, we take a look at the past with our Instagram-Account: for the #tbt we search the archive of Burckhardt+Partner and present a find out of 65 years of construction actinity – worldwide!
Follow us on Instagram!
Andreas Mast and Philipp Seer explain how large and small projects alike profit from BIM – and the directions in which the construction industry could develop as digitization progresses. Read more in the Tages-Anzeiger supplement from 7/14/2017 (german only).
Tagesanzeiger
Staying on the ball and thus remaining attractive in a changing market means looking beyond boundaries – be they geographical or intellectual. At the same time, the local planning culture and the people behind the business are also to be kept in mind.
As of January 2017, Burckhardt+Partner AG has a new subsidiary: B+P Reiner Becker GmbH in Berlin. In the current Agenda, Samuel Schultze and Reiner Becker briefly take stock of the first six months of collaboration. We are pleased to share these experiences with you.
Grosspeter Tower is the subject of the latest issue of Tec21: "Fassaden - Hüllen mit Hintergrund" (Facades – Envelopes With Background). Shortly before completion of our project, author Clementine Hegner-van Rooden sheds light on what its special facade is all about, as well as on the productive cooperation behind the construction of this new landmark at the entrance to the city of Basel.
TEC 21
The special issue "FOCUS BIM & Infrastructures" sheds light on the development of BIM in the Swiss construction industry.
Author Thomas Pfefferlé asked us how day-to-day life with BIM is altering our work processes. Read the article in French here.
The topping-out ceremony for the newly built section of the Bellikon Rehabilitation Clinic was held on May 23rd. With its five upper floors, the new building harmoniously blends into the landscape, despite its size. In future, it will accommodate the therapy rooms, swimming pool and gymnasium, as well as the 18-bed hospital ward. It is to be handed over to the owners at the end of March 2018.
In Pratteln, there are two neighboring sites with enormous potential for development: the Buss site and the Wasa site, which are right beside the railway station and owned by Mr. Hermann Alexander Beyeler. In this newspaper article from 5/15/17, read about how we are helping him to realize his vision for Pratteln.
For the first time, we have won a competition together with our Berlin office! The Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, is to be enhanced with a new learning center. Before the takeover of our office B+P Reiner Becker, it had already successfully qualified for the process.
We have now been awarded the contract, which gets the collaboration with our new subsidiary off to a great start.
The foundation stone ceremony for the new "LSL" building on the Roche site in Kaiseraugst took place on Friday, 4/7/17. LSL stands for Late Stage Development and Small Molecules Launch Facility – a new production building for rapid development and commercialization of low-molecular substances. Here, substances will be processed into solid dosage forms (tablets and capsules) after completion of the building in 2019.
We were comissioned with the new hotel Radisson Blu in Geneva, situated strategically between the citycenter and the airport Geneva-Coitrin. The hotel offers 250 rooms, a ballroom, several state-of-the-art conference rooms, a restaurant with bar and lounge as well as a fitness and spa area.
Planning a project that is to be publicly accessible throughout day and night is not an everyday occurrence.
The new access zones at Zurich Airport are just such a project. The dynamic wing-like form of the 350-meter-long roof over the access zones conjures up a great many associations with, for instance, past holiday experiences, future journeys, farewells, reunions, or the fascination of flight.
Discover the access zones in the current agenda!
Agenda 94
Together with Office Marco Serra, we renovated and converted the former monastery complex Abadía Retuerta near Valladolid, Spain. In cooperation with Diener & Diener Architekten, we also added a spa and wellness area to the 5-star hotel "Le Domaine" that opened there in 2011.
Recently, SpaFinder gave this spa and wellness area the "Best New Spa & Wellness Property" award.
We are delighted to have contributed to this fascinating project.
We are in Cannes, France, at the MIPIM - one of the biggest property fairs worldwide.
20,000 visitors are meeting up with architects, urban planners, finance institutes, estate agents and delegates of cities and regions from all over the world. Our Western Switzerland offices are present at region geneva's stand.
On 23. February, the Burckhardt+Partner Team Berne celebrated their traditional Winterapéro with about 100 guests in the Cinémas Pathé. After watching great impressions of the photographer Bernd Nicolaisen there was room for conversation.
Enjoy the photos of the evening!
As of January 1st, 2017, Burckhardt+Partner AG has a new subsidiary: B+P Reiner Becker GmbH in Berlin.
This office, founded in 1993 by Reiner Becker, operates all throughout Germany. Around 30 staff are responsible for the processing of demanding projects, from the competition entry through to when the keys are handed over. Various prizes and awards, including the Association of German Architects (BDA) Prize for the Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences' Audimax building, are evidence of high architectural quality.
We look forward to bringing about further development of this Berlin office together with Reiner Becker and his team.