The Basel Exhibition Center is characterized by the unique character of its location in the heart of the city. The impressive growth story of the Basel Exhibition Center over the last hundred years is accompanied by a turbulent architectural development heavily influenced by the conditions of an inner-city location. A building that seems to be from another time is directly adjacent to the bridge structure completed this year by HdM, namely the functionalist concrete construction of the Messeparking, built in 1974. As a pure infrastructure building, its appearance no longer corresponds to the representative claim of the Basel Exhibition Center. The exhibition assumes that a new parking garage can be organized more economically than the old one, but expects its demolition for a new construction only if the site is maximally utilized. Additional usable space is envisaged primarily for residential use in the form of apartment units, which makes sense given the housing shortage in the city of Basel. From an urban planning perspective, the question arises as to where the maximum utilization of this property can be and what urban spatial constellations this leads to. From an architectural point of view, the connection between parking and living is of particular interest.

A concept is developed in which the two functions are strongly intertwined. A flexible space and support structure is adapted to allow for different programming. Nine pairs of columns at intervals of three meters in six rows form the supporting structure. One car can park between a pair of columns, and three cars can park between two consecutive pairs. As a result, the building envelope is defined in the form of interlocking residential towers and intermediate parking decks. The building complex consists of two slabs, one facing the square at a height of 90 meters and the lower one facing the four-story residential buildings, maintaining a 60° angle of incidence of light, and two towers. Access to the parking garage follows in the alley next to the new congress center so that traffic is not burdened during high exhibition traffic. Pedestrians can enter the building from all sides, and the five access cores serve both the parking garage and the residential towers. The approximately 1600 parking spaces are intended not only for exhibition visitors but also for apartment owners. For the apartments located on the parking levels, there is the possibility of parking directly outside the front door. The large openings in the facade facing the exhibition square are designed to allow sufficient natural daylight into the apartments. After the last parking level, one reaches a rooftop garden, an extension of the Rosenthalanlage park. The overall building expression is strongly influenced by the visible support structure. It is a reinforced concrete skeleton structure with infill walls made of exposed concrete, reflecting quality. The massive columns and beams are also visible in the living spaces, thus shaping not only the external appearance but also the atmosphere of the apartments.