The dignified Basel town house from 1879 had been in the possession of the well-known Höflinger family of Basel photographers since 1912. Over the years it was altered a lot according to their needs;  it could hardly have been used as a residential building in the condition it was found, as it was spatially very fragmented and in some cases also dilapidated.

In addition, the house had two very different sides. On the street side, the house shows a very graceful, classicistically structured façade that celebrates the piano nobile with risalites and a solemn balcony. Behind the representative façade you will find beautiful old building rooms including an elaborately decorated splendor hall in neo-renaissance style. On the courtyard side, however, there were very small, nested adjoining rooms and attached studio and laboratory rooms in side wings and courtyard fixtures that testify to the commercial use of the time.

The strong discrepancy between the strong qualitative differences led to a renovation concept that freed the house from unnecessary ballast and emphasized the existing qualities, where necessary reconstructed and reinforced the house. This would not have been possible with a protected house, but opened up the great opportunity to take into account not only the preservation of the valuable building structure but also today's needs of living in an attractive location; Another form of monument protection, it ensures the continued existence of the building for many years thanks to its attractive and contemporary usability.

With the demolition of the rear building parts, a spacious garden was created in the closed courtyard, which improves the daylight conditions. Parts of the main building were also demolished precisely and an annex was added seamlessly. The building section shows how the storey heights of the building merge differently with the new extension. The function and location of the new rooms could thus be taken into account.

As result, the house now has two completely different faces, whereas the formerly neglected rearside now gives way to a valuable and generous façade.

The house was divided into two independent apartments on two levels:

The lower apartment contains the mezzanine floor and extends over a new connecting staircase to the first floor (piano nobile).

The upper apartment is reached via the old staircase and begins on the somewhat lower set second floor. From there, the apartment continues on the street-side mansard floor to the completely redesigned top floor.

When arranging and designing the new rooms, halls and stairs, it was taken care to strike a balance between old and new. Without adapting to the original, the new areas present themselves confidently and in every detail contemporary.

For example the new, spacious entrance hall with its continuous oak parquet and the design of the courtyard-facing rooms with their friezes, which are structurally derived from the facade, but also remind of stucco ceilings with coves.

But there are also areas that are deliberately not clearly assignable in terms of construction time: In many transition areas, the rooms and materials merge with one another.

While stylistically different components were used in the existing building in an eclectic way, some conceptual borrowings from the building tradition were taken in the new building, but implemented in a modern and reserved manner.

The extension fulfills all the technical requirements needed on a new, multi-storey house. However, it was a major engineering challenge to take on these requirements within old structures. With the help of the new supporting structure, the building engineer managed to make the entire building earthquake-proof. Furthermore, the old part was upgraded energetically and for the first time a central heating system was installed.

Care was taken to ensure that the new constructions and installations were implemented in their original form and material. (e.g. copper pipes, cast iron radiators, reconstruction of oak windows with original fittings and structured insulating glass, reproduction of cast iron window parapets etc.)

Particular attention had to be given to fire protection. Today's requirements were met by means of special reports, structural measures that were compatible with the existing conditions, and equipment with smoke detectors.