Description

The most important event, which generates the biggest turnover of Messe Basel is the annual international Jewellery and Watch Fair. Consequently it was crucial for the design that construction work would not cause a canceling of this fair. This meant that the old hall had to be demolished and the new one had to be erected within a year. Another challenge was the urban context of the exhibition buildings, as they are not situated on a green field site but right in Basel’s city center.

The new Trade Fair Hall 1 was completed after only seven months of construction due to six-day working weeks and the employment of 600 workers per day. Despite its length of 210 m, the building does not unfavorably confront the adjacent residential buildings. By taking up the height of the neighboring blocks, it responds to them; their façades are reflected in the glazed fronts of the longitudinal building. The most prominent feature of the building is a glazed stair tower at the new northern entrance of Basel Trade Fair, which creates a vertical contrast to the longitudinal façade.

The self-supporting primary structure of the glazed building envelope with an area of 15,000 m² consists of building-high tubular steel space trusses. The glazing in full height of the hall allows daylight to enter deeply into the exhibition areas. When required, the hall can be totally blacked out with textile blinds integrated in the inner façade. The exhibition area is situated in the centre of the building and covers a total area of 36,000 m². Its two levels are stacked on top of each other and have identical structural grids of 480 m². They have been designed as flexible spaces where – apart from trade fairs – various events ranging from concerts and sports events to conventions can take place.

As a mediating element between large and small scale, 16 m high “conservatories” are attached on both longitudinal sides of the hall. These 6 m wide transparent zones with single-glazed façades contain all technical equipment, secondary spaces, and vertical circulation units. This way, the exhibition area is free from installations such as hoists, ventilation units, sanitary facilities and material storage.

The conservatories serve as access areas to both exhibition levels and the basement. They function as thermal buffer zones leading to energy savings. The fully glazed longitudinal façades give visitors a feeling for the urban situation and facilitate the orientation within the trade fairs.

The fast completion of the building could mainly be achieved through the implementation of a structural steel skeleton on a modular construction grid. This system allowed construction elements to be prefabricated and installed on site. Furthermore, the construction progress was or­ganised starting from both ends and proceeding towards the middle. Consequently, builders could commence installation of mechanical equipment and the façades in the outer building areas when main works of the middle part had been completed.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.