Urbanistically this monolithic new building is situated at a teeming location that not only encompasses the head of the Margarethenbrücke overpass, but also the corner of a recently transformed block on Güterstrasse in Basel, historically a transshipment hub area with storage sheds and trades related to the utilization of the railway station.
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/photos-videos/5 photo_credit Yohan Zerdoun](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174398.4307.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
This important inner-city situation with its extreme special features in both directions is reflected in an unusual building section, which extends a precise and spatially rich response to the qualities of the location by providing the living space facing the tracks with an overdimensioned ceiling height.
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/photos-videos/6 photo_credit Yohan Zerdoun](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174398.8232.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
The spatial program entails various commercial uses on the ground floor city level, while the upper four standard floors and attic house a total of seventeen apartments, which are accessible via a pair of stairwells.
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/photos-videos/8 photo_credit Yohan Zerdoun](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174399.5979.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
The sculpturally impressive metropolitan façade also transports spatial richness into the urban surroundings through a building corner characteristically articulated in relief. The assemblage follows the logical principle of a hard shell facing the city and soft core inside.
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/photos-videos/11 photo_credit Yohan Zerdoun](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174401.2283.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
The project eloquently shows how the vibrant interplay of typology, material, and assemblage can be used to develop a valid architecture that is indifferent to the zeitgeist and enriches the place with a strong and distinctive identity.
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/drawings/7](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174510.5894.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/drawings/9](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174510.9956.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
![https://archello.com/story/99386/attachments/drawings/11](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2021/08/05/luca-selva-ag-neubau-meret-oppenheim-strasse--basel-private-houses-archello.1628174513.0422.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)