One wonders if the normal should not be news and yes when handling competitions (as happened when Zaha Hadid won the project in the City of Justice in Madrid, not built by the crisis. It was sad to hear at organizers with boasting, before know to the winner, that the City would have a Hadid).
If it is to imagine and have a contest to get the most original proposal, the first winner, of course the more "right" and "sensible", does not seem to have that range. However, if we recognize originality, the second prize really is much more interesting, when compared with the unfortunate proposal by Zaha Hadid.
The proposal "Seacliff" by Boltshauser Architekten has been selected as the winning entry, in the international architectural competition for the new "Ozeanium" Aquarium in Basel, Switzerland. The Zurich-based firm beat out tough competition from big architectural names, like Zaha Hadid Architects, who came in third, or David Chipperfield Architects, MVRDV, and Behnisch Architekten who only made the shortlist.
The jury praised the restraint in Seacliff's architectural language as well as the compact building volume, deemed most suitable for this inner-city site. The anonymous competition was organised by Basel Zoo. 55 teams of architects, aquarium designers and general planners submitted their applications. Of these 15 teams were then chosen to prepare a project proposal for the Ozeanium.
Construction costs for the project are expected to reach € 66 million, with the scheme due for completion in 2019. When it opens visitors will be able to see coral reefs, sharks, giant octopuses and luminous maringe organisms in the city centre.
Here is now also the winner of the Second Place, the entry "Watergate" by collaborating Swiss firms HHF and BURCKHARDT+PARTNER.
Project Description from HHF and BURCKHARDT+PARTNER:
AN OZEANIUM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY
Zoo Basel is embedded in the city and used as a park by residents and visitors. The redesigning of the green area Nachtigallenwäldeli and the construction of the new Ozeanium, an ocean aquarium, on the Heuwaage are bringing the zoo and the park area even closer to the city center, to form an attractive living environment and recreational area. The proposed Ozeanium accommodates the scale of the surrounding buildings, such as the Rialto swimming pool, the market hall and the tall buildings on the city ring. The striking, con!dent construction volume is a clear indication of what an attraction this will be, enriching the city in a central location.
The roof and facade are homogenous in terms of the materials and the language of forms: exposed concrete, horizontally graduated by rough boarding and with sediment-like exogenous inclusions.
The archaic building is riddled with differently sized openings and recesses, making it possible to ascertain the most important themes from the outside. Some of the spherical indentations in the building volume are planted with vegetation and serve as habitat for birds and small animals.
IN THE OZEANIUM AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY
In the Ozeanium’s dome-like entrance area, which is open on all sides, the gigantic weight of the masses of water above it becomes apparent. All of the building’s important functions can already be seen directly from here. A ramp leads down to the foyer and elevators; passages and staircases lead to the bar, the temporary exhibition and the museum shop. Everything for which the building is used can be accessed directly from the entrance area on foot, by wheelchair, or with a baby buggy. This public area is protected from the elements, but in terms of climate, it is an outdoor area, which is closed off at night by means of a grating.
IN THE OZEANIUM AROUND THE WORLD
On a !ctive journey around the world, the visitors discover and marvel at the creatures’ underwater living environments. On this journey, the 4 aquarium clusters constitute the scenographic highlights, to be experienced from large, interconnected exhibition rooms.
- Polar Coast
- Kelp Forest
- Deep Blue
- Mangroves and Corals
