{"id":9912,"date":"2014-10-06T16:27:51","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T14:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/messe-basel-new-hall-2\/"},"modified":"2015-06-20T12:55:20","modified_gmt":"2015-06-20T10:55:20","slug":"messe-basel-new-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/messe-basel-new-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Messe Basel – New Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Viewed from the outside, exhibition halls are actually nothing more than a stack of big boxes. They require very few windows and architectural distinctions are deemed as impractical restrictions on interior flexibility. The architectural results are generally composed of vast, monotonous facades of brick as in Hall 2 or glass for Hall 1. To avoid this repetitive sameness, we took a different approach for the New Hall.
\nThe New Hall features three exhibition levels. The entrance level, the lowest, is at grade with the street and outdoor square, permitting a natural and casual coming-and-going. Ground floor entrances seamlessly link the City Lounge to the existing Hall 1, former Hall 3, the new event space for 2\u2019500 spectators, and a number of shops, bars and restaurants in the foyers. The dynamic sweep of the street level facade reacts to the flows of people and corresponds to the space required at the tram stop and entrances to the exhibition centre and Event Hall. Here, large expanses of glass create the spatial transparency both necessary and appropriate in order to achieve the openness envisioned for the exhibition hall complex and the enlivening of public urban life. This vitalisation and acceptance will be crucial to the long-term success of the \u2018Messezentrum in the city\u2018 concept.
\nAbove the ground will be two exhibition floors. To avoid the \u201cbig box\u201d effect, the two upper volumes are offset from each other as separate entities, which indeed they are! The New Hall therefore consists of three individual elements, one on top of the other, each projecting over the street in varying degrees, and allowing them to respond to different urban conditions. From each point of view \u2013 whether from the Riehenring, Messeplatz or Riehenstrasse \u2013 the New Hall offers a different perception every time and thus avoids the monotony of uniform facade lines. This constant architectural variation is reinforced, paradoxically, by applying a homogeneous material (aluminum) over all exterior surfaces. The facade of articulated twisting bands strategically modulates and reduces the scale of the large exhibition volumes to its surroundings. This is not simply a decorative element but a practical means to regulate the fall of natural light on adjacent properties and to frame specific views from individual spaces, primarily the social areas, towards the public life of the city.<\/p>\n