Go-ahead for unique innovation campus in Allschwil
The Bachgraben enterprise zone in Allschwil just outside Basel is expanding rapidly. Excavation work has now begun on the BaseLink site for the innovation and enterprise campus. The impressive building was designed by Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron. The developer is the St.Gallen property development company Senn Resources AG. The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area has been confirmed as a strategic partner and anchor tenant. Alongside the building currently under construction for the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, the building will add to the Basel region's ecosystem for research, education and innovative businesses in the areas of life sciences, biotech, public health and medtech.
The campus will be an architectural landmark at the Bachgraben in Allschwil. Approximately 50,000 m² of flexible space will be created on five floors with state-of-the-art offices and laboratories for teaching, research and development of promising new products. The building will take shape around a turfed and tree-lined inner courtyard the size of a football pitch. This design is intended to facilitate completely new forms of knowledge- and idea-sharing between institutions, companies and people. The building designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron will be constructed by the property development company Senn Resources AG in an investment of approximately CHF 150 million.
The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area is the strategic partner and anchor tenant. It will move from its current site in Allschwil in mid-2022 and lease approximately 6,000 m² of floor space in the first phase of. By that time, most of the remaining space will have been rented. The Bachgraben enterprise zone already offers a dynamic environment for companies working in the fields of life sciences, biotech, public health and medtech, with tenants including innovative institutions and companies such as Actelion and Idorsia. With the development of the campus and the adjacent Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) building, the BaseLink site is set to reaffirm the Basel region’s continued importance as a leading European ecosystem for innovation. The Bachgraben is well on the way to becoming the crystallization point for all kinds of activities related to health and innovation.
OPENING OF THE SWITZERLAND INNOVATION PARK BASEL AREA SHOWROOM
The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area showroom that opened today offers an insight into the project. It includes features such as an architectural model of the building by Herzog & de Meuron and current visualizations of the building are displayed on a giant screen. The University of Basel’s Department of Biomedical Engineering (DBE) is also using it to show off its latest developments in the fields of robotics, laser technology and virtual reality. Lastly, a number of display boards and showcases provide useful information about the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, its funding programs and the start-ups based there.
The showroom is on the ground floor of Gewerbestrasse 12 in Allschwil. Entry is free of charge to the general public but by appointment only. It will also host regular public events. The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area showroom was built with the support of Senn, Herzog & de Meuron, DBE, Economic Development Baselland and BaselArea.swiss. Allschwil Municipal Council, Actelion, CSEM, Swiss TPH, Bürgerspital Basel, the Basel Chamber of Commerce and University Hospital Basel are involved as partners.
