The Basel-Mulhouse Airport experiences a strong growth due to its unique bi-national status and the exceptional economic activity of the Basel area. A masterplan has been designed by our office to allow a structured and progressive urban development between the A35 Highway and the terminal. The first step of this strategy is the re-organization of the parking system of the airport, with the construction of a 2500-place car park on the site. This large six-storey architectural volume will be lined up with the main terminal with which it will form a structured urban front. The construction has been shaped according to the form of its plot: fluid and longilineal. Its layout is organized according to an obvious circulation pattern, around two central helicoidal ramps.
The plain volume of the building will be highly visible from the highway and the whole airport site. Its envelope has been designed to express this formal simplicity while playing with light effects and view angles. It will be made of a delicate corrugated metal mesh, which will enhanced the monolithic aspect of the car-park in broad daylight. At sunset, it will let the internal light of the building shine through, making it resemble a gigantic lantern at the entrance marking the entrance of the airport.
Picures by P-M. Rouxel
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