Novartis Campus by Frank O. Gehry - Basel

Novartis is an pharmaceutical company conducting business on an international level...

One collects art, another one classic cars, and a third one buildings. As the CEO of Novartis, for instance, an expanding pharmaceutical company conducting business on an international level, the list of which concerning commissioned architects reads like a who’s who of the industry. On the former premises, a long-term project is currently being realized, a campus of knowledge, innovations and encounter. Until 2030, architects and planners have time to create a modern work location for attracting the world’s most talented people through first-class architecture and extraordinary design.
The master plan has been developed by Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, known for his formally disciplined and sustainable approaches from an esthetic point of view without any modernistic extravaganzas. And now this.
The anonymous ID WSJ 242/243 provides no hint of what’s behind it. However, as soon as you look at the building you will quickly identify the unique trademark.

The strictness and geometry of the factory road, intended by Lampugnani, has been contrasted by the grandseigneur through organic shapes as a counterpoint. And what a counterpoint this is. Some speak approvingly of a glass cloud landing on the campus, some think this unusual element, the master plan was even granted an exemption for, to be disturbing than enriching.

Opinions have always differed about Gehry’s buildings. People either adore or hate him – there’s not much space left in between. Relevant in creating the Bilbao effect, many have jumped on this bandwagon ever since, these expressive shapes are more or less usable for cultural business. The problems arising in the field of office buildings can be beautifully observed by watching the development of the Zollhof building ensemble at the Düsseldorf media harbor. Not even twelve years old, you can watch the shell crumbling in a time-lapse. But alright, let’s not be so full of criticism. Everyone deserves a second chance.

Novartis expects the building to become a symbol of creativity, mirroring work organization and office culture through spatial construction. A glass sculpture appearing to defy the laws of gravity – projecting, arched, tilted, transparent or shining. Gehry’s interpretation of Novartis’ multi-space concept, yes, even the sustainability promise, is kept in a ground-breaking manner by equipping the glass shell with photovoltaic modules.
140 employees of the staff management department have already moved into the new building. A figurehead for young, talented, potential employees. But also a “missed the topic”, housing a human resources department, aiming at talking to people in private and always trying to shield itself from the outside, in this open space continuum. It’s just a matter of time until creative internals for separating rooms from each other arise from the already old-fashioned appearing interior. Or is this also part of the concept?