The cruel problem of the annex is its fundamental subservience; typically of inferior scale and compromised aesthetics, it cannot exist on its own, while its predecessor did very well without it. Although the new building clearly needs to extend and complement Basel's Kunstmuseum, it is equally crucial that it proclaims its independence. If it is to be successful, the institution needs a new name: "Kunst Zwilling".
The site and its context intimidate – so much history, so little time. Too careful and the project shrivels, too flamboyant and it backfires. We propose a shape that is independent, beautiful and that "accidentally" behaves well in the context. Not exactly aligned, it fits carefully in all the perspectives but is strong enough to declare its independence – both from its immediate neighbors and the older museum – like one of Ellsworth Kelly's forms.
Generated from three rectangles, it is emphatically a "new" shape from the outside. To emphasize its strength, we have exposed the underground section, so that its status as a tower next to the Kunstmuseum's horizontality emerges. Derived from rectangles inside, its interior effortlessly divides into the kind of museum-spaces that the program insists on.
The structure is built of monolithic concrete, covered in sgrafitti, two-dimensional enlargements of the museum's initials. In three places in the frontal lobe, the concrete morphs to form a vaulted loggia, used as vantage and display points that also inject daylight into the museum.
