Kunstmuseum Basel’s new building

Kunstmuseum Basel, new building

Architects: Christ & Gantenbein, Basel

Stone: D91 and costum made colour D11, Flensburg format

With ist varied shades of grey, the new addition to Kunstmuseum Basel relates to ist historic surroundddings in a raw, elegant manner. The building is a solid block banded by horizontal strata, as if formed by geological deposits over millennia. Its façade consists of hand-made coal-fired brick, the shade of which gradually changes from dark at the bottom of the building to light grey at the top. This smooth shading effect is broken near the roof, where large letters appear to have been carved out of the façade, forming a decorative frieze that encircles the building.

Christoph Gantenbein, architect and co-owner of Christ & Gantenbein, talks about the façade made of coal-fired, hand-made brick on the new addition to Kunstmuseum Basel.   “The bricks serve to create a sense of harmony with the existing architecture. For example, the bricks create a kind of plinth. This brings to mind traditional architectural effects, but it is done in a way that is completely modern, with a kind of new, matter-of-factness.   Colours play an absolutely key role in how we perceive architecture – and the world, for that matter. The older main building appears slightly warmer inside, as well as outside. While the new building’s shades of grey relate directly to the main building, the coal-fired brick are a cooler variant on the same theme.   The bricks in the façade have a range of different shades, resulting in a massive building that plays with the sense of time. It looks as if it has been there for centuries, like Italian churches that darken with age. The new building does not exist in isolation. By virtue of its materials, it is integrated into the museum’s historical context.”