The Basel Volkshaus from 1925 had little original substance to show for itself due to extensive renovations. Herzog & de Meuron have reinvented the history of the building in their renovation and created an impressively harmonious atmosphere between yesterday and today.
The Basel Volkshaus from 1925 had little original substance to show for itself due to extensive renovations. Herzog & de Meuron have reinvented the history of the building in their renovation and created an impressively harmonious atmosphere between yesterday and today.
Since 1846, Underberg in the Lower Rhine region has been brewing a herbal digestif according to the secret recipe Semper Idem – but always something new. It is therefore fitting that two of the small bottles, wrapped in brown paper, are on offer in the hotel rooms of the Volkshaus. Tidied up in the Vitra toolbox, together with a book from the Swiss Diogenes publishing house, glasses, sewing kit and the remote control for the TV, which is conveniently hidden behind a curtain.
Semper Idem – but the Volkshaus itself is always new: Founded in the 14th century as a bailiwick, the place was transformed into a brewery and inn in 1845, and a beer and concert hall was added in 1874. Architect Henri Baur won the competition to build the new political, social and cultural meeting place in a prime location, which belonged to the city of Basel at the time. In 1925, the stately new Volkshaus was completed and expanded to include additional halls, a library and a hotel. A hybrid, one would say today, a city within the city, was the name of the game at the time. Demolition was averted in the 1970s, but the building was not treated with care.
When Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron were commissioned to renovate the Volkshaus in 2011, they found nothing of architectural significance, apart from the windows. Work began on the event halls, the bar and the brasserie. Suspended LED lights with thick-walled, hand-blown glass bodies replaced the chandeliers, and 255 bentwood chairs were commissioned from Horgenglarus. The design corresponds to the original from 1925, but the new backrests are all individually and visibly numbered. Today, as then, pewter covers the bar counter and tables. The mosaic fans on the floor were laid by hand. Etchings from the 17th century, enlarged on strips of wallpaper, adorn the washrooms as well as the walls of the 45 rooms and suites, which were completed at the end of 2020.
At least the architects found plans of the old staff bedrooms under the roof. They offered simple space for a bed, wardrobe and washbasin. The rooms are simple and beautiful, with furniture designed by the architects. They are entered through a wall unit, just as the meeting and office rooms used to be. It not only accommodates the checkroom, shower and toilet – the washbasin is free-standing, as in many historic Swiss hotels – but also gives rhythm to the corridor, as the shower has more depth. Incidentally, the Underberg does not replace the minibar: water, tea, coffee and apples are available on every floor. And the bitters are just as unnecessary. It’s really hard to find a hotel as wholesome and wellbeing-promoting as the Volkshaus.
Address:
Volkshaus Basel
Rebgasse 12-14
4058 Basel
Basel Switzerland
www.volkshaus-basel.ch
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