The New Werkraum Warteck PP Stairway

When you visit Liste art fair on your upcoming trip to Basel for Art Basel Week this summer (June 16-22, 2014), you will immediately discover that something has changed when you approach Werkraum Warteck pp, the building that provides home to the fair: The tower-like industrial style staircase has gone, replaced by a structure that reminds of a thunderbolt or a ball track. Some even call construction the Lamborghini of staircases, due to the stealth-edged design and its “fast” look. While still not quite finished, we had a look at the new stairway and met with Fabian Nichele of b-r-a-n-d scenography and Gerhard Paul Rössler of Baubüro In Situ. They tell us why the old construction had to be replaced, and why the new staircase looks like it looks. This video above is an excerpt. Scroll down for the complete interview and walk-through.

Every year in June, Werkraum Warteck pp provides home to Liste Art Fair Basel. During the year, Werkraum Warteck pp is a unique cultural space that houses studios, workshops, offices for artists, performers, craftsmen, and musicians. In the course of the expansion and renovation of the “Maltsilo”, the malt silo section of the former brewery building, the old staircase no longer met the requirements. New and existing doors had to be connected as well as the different levels of the three sections of the building. As Fabian Nichele explains, the “look” of the new stairway is less the result of “styling”, but of the functional specifications.

Interview with Fabian Nichele of b-r-a-n-d scenography and Gerhard Paul Rössler of Baubüro In Situ, February 20, 2014.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

Complete video (20:50 min.):

Photo set (Neue Werkraum Warteck pp Treppe):
Werkraum Warteck PP Stairway

Posted in: architecture, Basel, interview, LISTE - The Young Art Fair, premium, VernissageTV