Redesign of the restaurant at Basel Zoo

Basel, Switzerland

Photo © Tom Bisig

Restaurants, Bars, Clubs

Architects: Flubacher Nyfeler Partner Architekten

Location: Basel, Switzerland
Year: 2015

Project competition 2011, 1st place: The restaurant building, listed among the buildings worthy of protection by City of Basel, was erected by architect Heinrich Flügel in 1935, as a complete concept with hospitality area, entertainment in the form of a theatre, cinema and bowling alley, and music pavilion. The design is guided by the architectural preservation of expression of the building and his special qualities. The existing structure of the area accessible to visitors remains, though the interior has been given a gentle facelift. Large, side panoramic windows create a more open, lighter atmosphere within the self-service restaurant. A reinterpretation of the base, as a new spatial stratum in front of the main building evokes the required separation between the picnic zone and the restaurant terrace.

Visual links have been created to the play area and up to the animal enclosure in the newly designed surroundings. A new tree grid is used by the open picnic area, the independent space with its take-away pavilion that invites the guest to pause and linger a while.