Ernst Koller Pavilion Basel

0004Ernst Koller Pavilion Basel

Shortly after the death of the inventor, architect, and metal­worker Ernst Koller (1900—2002), the architects proposed the erec­tion of an exhibi­tion pavilion in his memory which would make Koller’s many-faceted life­work acces­sible to a broad public. Among Koller’s out­stand­ing achieve­ments are the facades of the Nestlé Admin­is­tration Build­ing in Vevey and the WHO head­quarters in Geneva. He also invented the sound­proof win­dow and the wood/metal compo­site window.

The architects found a suit­able loca­tion in the imme­diate vicinity of the Schweize­rische Metall­bau­tech­niker­schule (Swiss School of Metal Construc­tion Engi­neer­ing; SMT) in Basel. The austere Koller Pavil­ion forms a precise transi­tion to the adja­cent Baroque garden, forming an ensemble together with existing build­ings. Koller’s aluminium profiles were used for the visible steel skeleton. The glazed outer skin is printed with Koller’s digitalized profile cross sections. The appearance of the shell emer­ges through the inter­play between the print­ing, the four-layered glass panels, and the reflec­tions of the park visible on the sur­face of the facade. The shell becomes a compo­nent of the exhibi­tion, and can also be admired by visitors and strollers out­side of open­ing hours. At night, the pavil­ion glows in the park like a lantern. The architects planned and assem­bled the pavil­ion together with Diplom students at the SMT Basel. The structure now serves as a memo­rial for this great inven­tor, and as an exhibi­tion and creative space.