Roche builds a third skyscraper in Basel: 221 meters high

The pharmaceutical giant Roche is consolidating its strengths in the knee of the Rhine. Five years ago, the company inaugurated the 178 meter high Roche Tower. Shortly after, the construction of the second 205-meter high tower began. And now the billionaire is already launching plans for the third tower. It should be even higher: Roche’s third skyscraper could be up to 221 meters high. Record.

A statement Wednesday said there should be offices in the building. Roche speaks of a “visual triad” of “three-step high-rise buildings.” The design is again from the pen of the architects Herzog & de Meuron.

“The current small-scale and dense development in the southern area,” he continues, “no longer meets today’s requirements for modern, sustainable, earthquake-proof workplaces.” All the buildings in the southern zone, except for the first skyscraper and the historic administration building, will be demolished from 2023. Instead, the new tower arrives. In addition to a lot of green.

The construction site will be huge. Switzerland has never seen a construction project like this before. Roche’s first building is currently the tallest building in Switzerland. This title will go to Roche’s second building next year. The two buildings tower above the rest of Switzerland for long.

The tallest building outside of Basel is the Prime Tower in Zurich. The building in the west of Zurich is 126 meters. The Prime Tower is currently the second tallest skyscraper in the country. Third: Basel again, the exhibition tower, 105 meters. Fourth place: a residential tower in Dübendorf ZH, the JaBee Tower. Fifth place: the Sulzer skyscraper in Winterthur ZH, 99.7 meters.