Basel Gives Old Office Buildings a New Life as Housing

“I have never spent so much time on a construction site,” says Swedish architect Mikael Stenström, who followed every detail of the conversion of a 1960s office building in Basel.

During the city’s Open House weekend, 115 buildings temporarily opened to the public. Among them was the former office building that Stenström’s firm, Kooperative E45, converted into 28 rental apartments. The project forms part of Basel’s “Wohnprogram 1000+,” which aims to create 1,000 affordable rental homes by 2030.

The contrast with Stockholm is striking. In Basel, 85 percent of households rent their homes, compared with about 30 percent in Stockholm. Many of the buildings featured during the open-house weekend were older properties given a second life as housing. The approach reflects a growing focus on sufficiency and resource conservation, based on the recognition that natural resources are not unlimited.

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I have never spent so much time on a construction site.

At Hochbergerstrasse, the building’s original structure remains. A new facade was added outside it, along with a passage that serves as a shared terrace for residents. New openings bring daylight into selected areas. Raw concrete meets solid wood, giving the property a robust character. Some apartments have narrow layouts with a dark central area, but similar plans also appear in new Swedish housing.

Basel’s environmental priorities are visible beyond its buildings. Tall grass and meadow-like vegetation now cover many roadside areas because they support more species than closely cut lawns. The city favors renovation over demolition and new construction, while also seeking resource efficiency in new projects. “Rethinking” a building brings challenges involving ceiling height and daylight, Stenström says, but the process uses significantly less carbon. Kooperative E45 was able to take on the project after winning an open architectural competition, a route that often gives small, newly established firms opportunities in Switzerland.

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Rethinking a building is naturally different from designing a new one. It has its challenges, for example regarding ceiling height and daylight. But the process uses clearly less carbon, and that counts as a gain in itself here.