Basel: Test planning for klybeckplus is available

BASF and Novartis hardly need the Klybeck site for industrial production any more. The landowners therefore joined forces with the Canton of Basel-Stadt last year to plan the future of this area of around 300,000 square meters. The previously inaccessible industrial areas between the Rhine and the meadow are to be opened up to the population and transformed into a new urban quarter.

To this end, four planning teams from Basel, Berlin, Frankfurt and Rotterdam were commissioned to develop a test plan for how the areas could be developed. The results are now available.

AS+P from Frankfurt envisions four building blocks for the new klybeckplus district: A "meadow quarter" is to combine living in the park and small-scale living along the river landscape with the establishment of commercial areas in the core. A "river quarter" takes up the typical block edge formats of the neighboring quarters and forms a new quarter square with a possible Klybeck culture factory; the "Horburg Park" is planned as a retreat and local recreation area and is to be supplemented with a public small market hall. A "24-hour quarter" between the extension of Mauerstrasse and the Dreirosenbrücke bridge is to serve as a laboratory for future city life - with different forms of housing in close proximity to workplaces and services. It should also be possible to add storeys and high-rise buildings here.

Mixture of residential, commercial and cultural areas

Diener & Diener from Basel see the "Klybeckplatz" as the heart of the new quarter, where a transport hub with streetcar lines and a suburban train is also to be created. Taller buildings will define the square, which will serve as a link between the existing neighborhoods. The architects are aiming to continue building an urban quarter with industrial charm, complemented by clearly defined new buildings. Between Klybeckplatz and the meadow, an "industrial street" with residential and working areas is planned. Mauerstrasse is to be traffic-free and form a green axis between the Rhine and the meadow. In its extension, a public park will be created on the Rhine, which can be used for various leisure activities.

Prof. Hans Kollhoff from Berlin wants to continue the existing urban structure with its perimeter block development in the new quarter. In addition to housing, the first floors can be used for a variety of purposes. In the "Étoile", the center of the new quarter, he proposes a high-rise ensemble. In the basement, new shopping facilities are to supplement the existing district supply. The center of the quarter will be connected to the Rhine via an avenue of trees and a boat harbor. A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists will connect the riverside promenade with the Rhine promenade opposite.

OMA from Rotterdam wants to dissolve the separation of the existing neighborhoods in the new area by inserting a "backbone", a cultural ribbon, along Mauerstrasse for public, social and cultural uses. This is interwoven with the rest of the district via the outdoor space. Various sub-areas are also planned in the quarter, from a service area to the cultural ribbon to small-scale housing along the meadow and a public event platform on the Rhine. Living should be possible right down to the first floor, with car-free residential zones and underground parking.

The results of the test planning were discussed with interested neighborhood and city residents. The input will be incorporated into the subsequent planning phase, which in turn will form the basis for the district master plan that is binding on the authorities, according to the City of Basel.