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It was a contest of the association of master builders for the centenary, which the architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron won in 1995. Together with their artist friend Rémy Zaugg, they proposed that the nameless square in front of the main post office be poetically named “Rüdenplatz”. A plastic-coated triangular light source would refer to the Birsig flowing underneath. Writings were placed on the facades of the surrounding buildings: “The river of clouds” was emblazoned from the main post office, “Bosques Rocks” from the house opposite and from the Mitte company it shone: “Rain, sun, gorge” .
The project was never executed, costs were reduced from 1.5 million francs to one million, but the association raised no more than 300,000 francs. Now there is a linden tree that WWF Basel donated to the city for its 25th anniversary.
But now Herzog & de Meuron have won another competition for the same location: on behalf of the homeowner and insurance group Axa, they will renovate the main post office in the coming years and redesign it. Axa announced this Tuesday.
A multifunctional town house
The insurance company invited four Basel offices to submit ideas. The media department cannot say which one they convinced the winners with. It wasn’t a specific idea that convinced me, but the approach that would be used to find the right ideas for the location and renovation. A multifunctional town house with shops, service providers, restaurants and offices is projected. Even partial retention of the post cannot be ruled out.
Construction work will not begin before the summer of 2022, as tenants, including the post office, have fixed-term contracts until the end of next year. The Post had already announced in 2016 that this location in the heart of the city was not profitable. The Social Democrats organized a demonstration to avoid a shutdown and mobilized their economic director Christoph Brutschin, who personally campaigned for an extension of the rental contracts.
National Security will have a decisive voice
For further development of the building complex, architects can go back to history. Since the 14th century, a department store was located in the place that the post office provided for itself and its needs in the middle of the 19th century. The sandstone building was remodeled several times, which, according to historical accounts, provoked heated debate. The counter lounge, which is modeled after a Gothic sacred building, is even a sight to see for tourists.
The architects’ scope for the design will be limited, as the complex is subject to rigid national security rules. Perhaps, however, they can save an old idea and put the inscription on the ceiling: “The clouds of the river.”
