Expansion of the art museum Basel. The extension, conceived as an urban counterpart to the existing museum. When taken together with the museum building and the museum's newly aquired Laurenz building it forms an urban unit in which usages overlap. The angled volume of the building articulates this close relationship and formulates precise external spaces. In principle the complex circumstances are met by continuing the process of knitting or interlacing elements, whilst simultaneously leaving the existing hierarchy of the cubes uninterrupted. The library storey is recessed, clearly articulating the exhibition storey and suspending it in the process. By this means the building gains a lightness, and can be interpreted as a pavilion when seen from the garden. The first storey contains a series of optimally lighted and spacious exhibition room with a total area of ca. 700 m² which vary in size and light exposure and taken together form a varied spatial succession. The roof of the new construction is viewed as the main façade by the museum visitors in the upper exhibition halls of the of the old building. The volume of the new building receives a restrained modulation, due to the slight inclination of the metal sheet roofing, and a measured expressivity is created which provides a stimulating contrast to the hermetic museum building. The new construction is volumetrically joined to existing museum buildings and clearly subordinates itself to the rich tradition of the ensemble. Its uniform materialisation makes the counterpart clearly legible and marks its independence. The industrial aesthetic contrasts with the architectural prestige of the traditional museum and makes the interior changes that have taken place apparent from the exterior.

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