The Vosges stadium in Basel
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Harris + Kurrle Architects
The Vogesen stadium is the result of the redesign of a school playground used by three schools in the north of Basel. Instead of renovating dilapidated plant troughs and fountains, MET Architects installed a bold 3D playing field and thus activated three schools and a roof area in one go.
Refurbishment
The Vogesen, Pestalozzi and St. Johann schools form a U‑shaped structure on the edge of the block. At its center is the schoolyard, with a gymnasium and swimming pool underneath.
The design of the schoolyard no longer met the needs of today’s schools and pupils. In addition, the roof kept leaking. The City of Basel’s Building Department therefore decided to commission the renovation and redesign.
MET Architects cleared the schoolyard of above-ground structures such as skylights, fountains and plant troughs with just a few interventions. The old insulation and surfacing layers were also removed and replaced.
Vosges stadium
Two basketball courts made of red synthetic surfacing (polyurethane) were laid out on the new, now open court: The Vosges stadium was created. The seating steps were dismantled down to their supporting structure, renewed and supplemented with two covered spectator stands. They now extend across the entire width of the pitch and form a stadium-like space that is available to the three schools and the entire neighborhood for use during breaks, sports and leisure activities.
The grandstand roofs of the Vosges stadium, each of which cantilevers by around six meters, are clearly visible from the school buildings. To provide spectators and athletes with privacy and to protect the concrete from penetrating moisture, the roofs were also coated with the red polyurethane coating of the pitches.
Before the refurbishment
Organization
The playing field was thus visually extended beyond the edge and forms the new schoolyard as a single unit, even from the upper floors of the surrounding buildings.
The Vogesen stadium is a very good example of the activation of public spaces and (roof) areas, especially in an increasingly dense urban context.
Project data
Architect
MET Architects GmbH SIA
Klybeckstrasse 141 / K 102
CH – 4002 Basel
Building owner
Building Construction Office Canton Basel-Stadt
Playing field surface
CONICA AG
Industriestrasse 26
CH – 8207 Schaffhausen
Address
Stadion Vogesen
St. Johanns-Ring 17
CH – 4056 Basel
Photos
Ruedi Walti, Basel
Text
Johannes Bühlbecker
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