Studio Gugger | Birseckstrasse

2015

Feasibility Study

2017

Guideline project
(monitoring board)

2018

Start of the district plan procedure

2020

Participatory procedure

Housing in the municipality of Birsfelden has been rejuvenated and upgraded only moderately over the past decades. Even the existing development at Birseckstrasse 2 - 14 no longer meets modern requirements in terms of living comfort and energy efficiency.

Following a negative opinion on the refurbishment of the property, the owner, CSA Real Estate Switzerland, an investment group of the Credit Suisse Investment Foundation, commissioned the architectural office Harry Gugger Studio and the landscape architects Westpol to conduct a feasibility study to examine the refurbishment or replacement of the buildings in 2015. At the same time, the potential for densification on this attractive and well-developed plot was to be explored.

In an iterative process between municipal authorities, the client and planners, a high-rise residential building with two point buildings emerged as the most socially and environmentally compatible solution. In a next step, the present indicative project was elaborated in an accompanying procedure with representatives of the municipality, the Areal Building Commission (ABK), the cantonal authorities and independent experts. The Building and Planning Commission (BPK) and the Birsfelden municipal council, as well as the cantonal ABK, have approved the project and the neighbourhood planning procedure now underway.

The residential tower occupies the southernmost building plot, located directly on the River Birs, and thus marks the beginning of the town centre. The renaturation of the Birs has created a valuable landscape area for the population in recent years. The densification through the residential tower and the two punctual houses allows the footprint of the new development on the Birs to be reduced, thus creating space for a public park and an extension of the Birs area.

145 very economically designed and attractive 1.5. to 5.5-room flats will be created, which will be priced in line with the current Birsfeld housing market. The ground floors will be kept open for communal use in relation to the parking area. This will create a contemporary residential complex which will allow the existing buildings to be replaced economically and at the same time create added value for the neighbourhood and Birsfelden thanks to the attractive open space with direct access to the Birs.