Basel: Syngenta site conversion on track
The conversion and expansion of Syngenta's headquarters in Basel's Rosental area is nearing completion. The seed and agrochemicals company has submitted a building application to the canton for the third and final stage of the project, which involves total investment of around CHF 200 million.
The high-rise building opposite the Badischer Bahnhof, which dates from the 1950s, will be demolished and replaced by a new building designed by the Basel-based architectural firm Buchner Bründler. By 2018, a three-story reception and office building with a floor space of 6,200 square meters is to be built for CHF 45 million. A total of around 110 people will work in the building, including the management; the current high-rise building accommodates around 60 more employees.
The above-ground visitor parking lot, which is currently located on the southern side of the high-rise building in the direction of Rosentalstrasse and offers 90 parking spaces, will be moved underground and reduced in size in the course of the redesign. The open space created above it will be kept as a building land reserve, but will initially be landscaped.
Construction work is scheduled to begin with the demolition of the 14-story former Ciba-Geigy high-rise in the second half of 2016. Before that, the second stage, the conversion of the large office building along Rosentalstrasse, will be completed by mid-2016. (ah)
