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' AR(.III I l t.l L.RL Al'll L.KIIA'I 1'1 ANNII'G TODA Y ARL
'J(TI" CONUKNI Il \\ n 11 1 KAN\1 OK\III'G
IHI \\(IKLU. K.\1111 K I IILY ,\Rl
t.ON(.LRMD\\ITIIII''TlRI'RLTING n The Spanish philospher Trias
calls ir a poeric imerprerarion rhar leaves rhe world as ir is
leaves things in rhe world as rhey are, bur sets about in sovereign
independence to imerpret the world and its surfaces fui! of merits
and mistakes sets abour to give an imerpretaion, in a musical and
theatrical sense an inspired vision show-ing the world in its
truth, unfettered, transparent, as lS 1ts nature.
In 1928 Roth, who was rhen working for Le Corbusier, invited
Mondrian to visir the Villa Savoie in Poissy. Mondrian, who ir
seems hardly ever left his studio, for once accepred an invitation.
But he asked Roth to organized a nighttime visir, since Mondrian
could not stand to see the disorderly urban and suburban
realiry.
De Chirico's Pittura Metafsica and still more the
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AVUI IJI \, I.'ARQUITI C...'TURA 1 LA N .ANIFICACI URUANA NO
TI.Nb~ l ;\ PRLOCUPACI 0[ TRt\NS.
I OK\IAR 11 Mth. Mfs AVIAT ELS INTEREssA 11'-'T~KI'KHAR-Lo. El
fi losof es pan-yo! Eugenio Tras ho anomena interpretaci poetica
> tal com el coneixem per les obres futuri stes i
expressionistes. La reincorporaci de l'ob-jecte, el registre de
l'entorn i de les seves condicions de vida era l'expressi d'un cert
desencant . El tema era la percepci precisa i, per tant, havia d
'expressar l'a.illa-ment de l'i ndividu. Malgrat la interpretaci
artst ica personal, aquest
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simultaneously evoke the disintegration of material in time.
The emptiness and affliction of the city is not celebrated, not
even consciously made a theme but the appearance of surmouming it
neither is presented.
Nonetheless, uncertainty is understood as potential. We read the
city attentively, mark its fault lines, try to recognize traces in
them and as such to emphasize them. These are reflections,
interpretiona, extremely multi-layered factual findings.
Analogously multi-layered are the methods of this confrontation. It
is an endless dialectic between research for t he future ob-ject as
an at a cer-tain place and, once found, its finite form as a new
pan of this place. The dialectic marks t he critica! threshold
between autonomous artistic work and its new identity as a
reality.
Sorne methods repeat themselves in such design processes. They
are pan of on-going research. As far as t hey are of the
typological kind, they are founded, at least part-ly, on the rat
ionalistic research into this category as has been practiced again
and again since the 1920s. This research also served to unite
within the Modern Movement the so vary ing architectural visio ns
of different architects as w itnessed so impressively by the second
CIAM Congress in Frankfurt in 1929. Although the sciemific quality
of such research has lost its original force -the vital economic
dimension no longer exists ( Wohnung fur das Existenz-minimum!H
ousing for the existential minimum)-typological research an
important continuous element. Its dimensional aspects nonetheless
are placed in a con-crete context with the economic practice of the
market. Morphological research is understood less generally, in the
context of a certain place and yet in the most general way of p
inpointing statements that concern our immediate experience of a
place. They open up a whole dimension of architecture which in the
end is oriented to a cen a in place in t he city in all aspects of
its physical reality.
These typological and morphological categories are also
signifiers for human modes of existence. They lead back to
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El 1985, !'artista americi Charles Slmonds va travessar
l'edifiel que ara cont el Museu d 'Arqullectura de Basllea amb tre
s arbres gegantlns, que semblaven haver crescut a traves de
l'edlficf. Segons sembla, els vlsltants no van percebre la qualltat
poetlca d'aquesta arquitectura fins que la seva ldenUtat funcional
com a part operativa .. de la clutat es va haver esgotat. In t985.
!he AmeriCan anst Charles Smonds pterced the buld1ng lhat now
con1a.ns the Basle Archltecture Museum wth three 1mpos1ng uees lhat
seemed to have grO\vn through the bu1ld.ng lt appcared lhat vsilors
percoiVed !he poe11c quahty of ths plece ol archltocture only whcn
1ts tunclional idenllty as an opera!IVB part of the cty had
become
e~~:hausted
conscient collectiu que poden relacionar tamb el nos-tre procs
de disseny autonom amb la seva recepci possible. Tamb va apareixer
dins del moviment sur-realista la discussi referida als problemes
espirituals de la societat comemporania a Pittura Metafsica i Neue
Sachlichkeit. Max von Moos va escriure so-bre el contingut
arquetpic supraindividual que preo-cupava els surrealistes: Naig
rebutjar la mera subjecti-vitat per motius morals. Em vaig consolar
amb el fet que quan hom penetra prou en el subjectiu, arriba al
regne de l'arquetip i per mitja d'ell s capas: de dir ms coses
sobre !'experiencia contemporan ia que la radio o els mitjans de
comunicaci.
Algunes vegades, l'expressi deis nostres edificis s'acosta a la
del movimem modern, la recepci del qual, com he apuntar al
comens;ament, ha esdevingut cada cop ms difcil. Sn aquestes les
imatges que semblen com-portar una connotaci negativa. No sn pas
les mera-fores d'un mn imacte, tal com ens mostren l'art classic i
el classicista. No s pas el procs abordar pels surrealistes, la
meravellosa inversi de significats, la
(
Lyonel Felnlnger, an ys quaranta. La mirada des del seu estudl
de Nova Vork, a l'exlll, a la clutat. Lyonel Feininger. forties.
Tho viow from his studio in New Vork, in e)(ile. In lhe Clly.
transformaci de smbols de naturalesa divina, per exemple (natura
naturans), en altres de natura denatu-rata com una crtica fonamemal
de la societat. De ve-gades es u-acta noms de diferencies mnimes.
Els nos-tres edificis qestionen el moviment modern i la seva
recepci crtica en la seva mateixa presencia. L'imeres pels edificis
del moviment modern esta plausiblement justificar. No s sin un
imeres per les realitats fsi-ques i culturals de les nostres
ciutats.
Tanmateix, tamb s cert, com ha dit Andr Malraux, que a tates les
arts, la relaci entre teora i obra pertany al regne ironic de la
comedia de l'esperit. L'artista jus-tifica teoricamem allo que
desitja crear, pero crea allo que es correspon amb la seva
habilitat. En aquest con-text, Malraux escriu de Czanne: Els
paisatges i les natures martes no esdevingueren pas les seves obres
ms importants perque Czanne tingus una especial de-bilitar per les
pomes, sin perque en un quadre de po-mes de Czanne hi ha ms espai
per a Czanne del que hi ha per a Rafael en el seu retrat de Lle
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Fotomontatg e del p rojecte. Proect (photographC study) .
Edlllcls d"ofici nes i esglsla de Clncla Cristiana. Ollice
bu1ldmgs and F1rS1 Chnshan Scence Church
Museu d'Art Arl Museum. Chrlst & Bonatz, 1930.
Esglsla de Chi nela Cristiana. Fa~ana prin c ipal . Ftrsl
Chnslian Science Cburch. Mam lacade. O. R. Salv lsberg,
19351936.
Museu d'Art. Detall de la fa~ana. An Museum. Facade detall.
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Emplac;;amont $110 plan
Pleassoplatz , Basllea
Arqulleetes ArChltOCIS
Olener & Dlenor
(M irelllo Blan or, Jens Erb,
Rogar Olener, Oleter Rlgh ettl)
Data del projecte PrOfOCI
(Concurs Compc11110n) 1987
D ata d'exeeuel Omo ol construction
1990-1993
Edifiei d'ofieines, Pieassoplatz Conrrariamem al que hom podra
esperar del nom, 1:~ Picassoplatz mai no ha estat objecre d'un
especial inreres pblic o culrural. No obsranr, en aquesta
confluencia es rroben edificis imporrams pera !'arquitectura de
Basilea del segle XX: el Museu d'Arr, i la primera Esglsia de
Ciencia Cristiana, d'Orro Rudolph Salvisbcrg. L'espai queda definir
per diversos edificis d'oficines consrrus duranr els anys cinquanra
i seixanra, i per un gararge. Els edificis d'oficines, d'aparen~a
irreal ambles fas;anes quadriculades, inrrodueixen un pla fromal i
al mareix temps alliberen l'espai per peremetre una visi de
profundital. L'edifici del museu i l'esglsia sn compleramenr
diferenrs. Toe i que esran enrerirats i, per tanr, no estan situats
directament a la plar;:a, exerceixen un gran impacte damunr
d'aquesta. Es tracra d'un joc irritant de models urbans, de formes
volumerriques i de formes de consrrucci, i deis seus diversos
significats; un joc, pero, que no esta privat del tot de normes. El
projecre d'un nou edifici administratiu es caracreritza
essencialment per l'elecci d'elemems tipo-logics generals i pel seu
desenvolupament. Malgrar rot, no es podria haver csbossat sense
tenir en compre les normes i els diversos aspecres que
caracterirzaven l'indret. La superposici d'elements ripologics i
d'elemems espacials urbans i iconografics, pero, no s el nostre
rema. Evitem tant la sofisticada geometra encoberra com la
fragmemaci artificial. Sense cap inrenci de monumentali-tat, el
projecte csra dissenyar axialment i les far;:anes giren al voltant
de tots els espais de l'edifici. Noms es rracra de la designaci
d'un ripus d'edifici com aquest per a aquest indrer determinar. Les
parets exreriors s'executen amb els eixos de les finesr res i de
les balustrades de pedra com una estructura enrrereixida. Mentre
que en el Museu d'Arr la consrrucci de murs determina les fa~anes -
es van emprar expressamem pedres de rores les pedreres sulsses- ,
en el nou edifici administratiu la relaci emre parees i oberrures i
el pes de !'estructura s el que en determina la uni tat.
off i e e Bu i 1 di n 9 a t pi e a S S o p 1 a t z In contrast
to whar one would expecr from its name, Picassoplatz was never the
objecr of any special public or cultural interest. Neverrheless,
two buildings imporrant ro XX-century archi tecture in Base!, che
are museum and che Firsr Christian Science Church by Otro Rudolf
Salvisberg, are located on chis rather un noriced JUnCtiOn. The
site's space is immediately defined by various office buildings
builr in che 1950s and 60s and by an auromobile garage. The office
buildings, seemingly unreal wirh rheir grid fa~ades, stand
di-recrly on the Plarz. These are buildi ngs rhar introduce a
fronral plane while frceing che space for a long vista past rhem.
The museum bui lding and che church are complerely different.
Alrhough rhey are recessed and chus are not locared direcrly on che
Plarz, rhey have a grear impact on it. This is an irriraring game
of urban patterns, volumetrics, bui ldi ng forms and rheir various
mea-nings, but not one rhat is entierly wirhout rules. The plan for
a new administrative bu ilding is essentially characterized by the
choice of general rypo-logical elemenrs and their development.
Nonerheless, it could nor have been derived without the rules and
aspects rhat characterized chis site. But the superimposition of
typological elements omo urban spatial and iconographic elemenrs is
not our theme. The plan is not a momage. Sophisticared overlapping
geometry is avoidcd just as is artificial fragmentation. Without
any suggestion of mo-numemaliry, the plan is designed axially and
fapdes are led uniformly around all building rracts. This is
nothing more rhan the designation of such a building rype for rhis
specific sire. The ourer walls are execured with che window axes
and stone balusrrades asan interwoven srrucrure. While in the art
museum, the wall construction irself determines che fa~ade-stones
from every Swiss stone quarry have consciously been urilized -for
the new administrative building the relationship berween wall and
opening, rhe weight of its srructure, lends it its uniry.
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1 1 1 R 1 1 1 u 1 1
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Planta b 3lxa Ground IIOOf. Maqueta de l'es al ' Modcl ol office
s: ace:. otlclnes.
Planta segona te Second. third a~d t~~e;~ tl~aru.
Planta clnquena Fhh fl oor plan
Sltuacl SIIC pfan
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E d i f i e i d 'O f i e in e S a H O eh S traS S e 1 6, B a Si
1 e a El nou edifici d'oficines es troba al costar de l'esraci, en
un barri obrer sorgit a la fi del segle XIX al sud-est de la
ciurat. L'entorn de l'edifici es caracteririza pe! Lramat de les
vies del ferrocarril, la filera de vivendes constru"ldes al llarg
de les vies i, a l'oest, pels edificis d 'oficines que durant els
darrers anys han anat substituint els antics edificis residencials.
El nou edifici esra orientar a tres bandes i constitueix el
coronament de la filera d'edificis que hi ha alllarg de les vies.
Es compon de sis plantes d'oficines i una planta subterdmia,
destinada princi-palment a sales de reunions que s'illuminen
mitjan~ant grans lluernes situades al pat i enjardinar que dna a
l'estaci. L'ittic, lleugerament enrera respecte a l'alineaci del
carrer, s'ha constru amb maons de color negre i recu ll el caracter
de les teulades de les cases ve"lnes. L'aparen~a externa de
l'edifici s senzilla, gaireb severa, i reflecteix l'ambient deis
voltants de !'esta-ci, on hi predominen les consrruccions ciares i
senzilles. Els materials emprats a les tres fa~anes portants
-formig vist de color obscur, maons negres, bron-ze i vidre-
reforcen la intenci d'integraci i al mateix temps atorguen a
l'edifici un colorit caracterstic.
Off i e e bu i 1 d i n g a t n .0 1 6, H o eh s tras se, B as 1
e The new office building is next to the station, in a
working-class disrrict that emerged at the end of rhe XIX century
in che sout-heast of the city. The surroundings of the building are
characterized by the railway line nerwork, che row of houses
constructed along che lines and in the west by rhe office buildings
which over the last few years have been substituting the former
residential buildings. The new building has fa~ades on three sides
and forms the end of the row of buildings that run along the
railway lines. It consiscs of six floors of offices and a basement,
set aside principally for meeting rooms, illuminated by large
skylights situated in the landscaped courtyard which overlooks the
starion. The attic, slightly inset with respect to the fa~ade over
the srreet, has been built of black bricks and reflects the
character of the neighbouring roofs. The outher appearance of che
building is simple, almost severe, and harmonizes the immediate
su-rroundings of che station, in which clear, simple constructions
predominare. The materials used on the three bearing fa~ades -bare,
dark-coloured concrete, black bricks, bronze and glass- reinfor-ce
the intention of integracion, while at che same time conferring
upon the building its own colour.
Empla~aent Sle plan
8as11ea
Arquitectas Archl!ects
Olener & Dlener
(Roger Dlener
Paul L.anglotz
Andreas Redl)
Data del projecte Proect
1986
Data d'execucl Date ol construcHon
19861989
Folografles Phocographs
Lllll Kehl
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Sltuacl S1te plan
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111-- 111 m --~r-
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Planta iiUc Anic plan.
Plan ta tlpus Type plan
