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Swiss property: Art and architecture make Basel a class act Sigrún Davíðsdóttir Share
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Home of Art Basel, the city boasts an array of striking architecture as well as good schools and transport
©Reinhard Schmid/4Corners Images
A view of Middle Bridge, in Basel, from Rheinweg Promenade
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n Basel, the “Altstadt” skyline is low and even, yet it is boldly interrupted by the tall, white, recently completed Roche building, which was designed by the city’s most
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Swiss property: Art and architecture make Basel a class act - ...
file:///Users/sd/Downloads/Swiss property_ Art and architectu...
famous architect duo: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. As locals often say: “In Basel, things do change but they change slowly” — in 2007, a Zaha Hadid design for a new concert house proved too much and was voted down in a city referendum. In earlier times rich families strove to impress with glorious buildings; now it is the life sciences industry shaping Basel. In addition to Roche, names such as Novartis, Syngenta and Ciba are on eye-catching buildings and campuses. The city’s old industrial families — nicknamed “Teig” (or “dough”) — still play an active part in Basel culture and it was with their support that art dealer Ernst Beyeler co-founded Art Basel in 1970, which has grown to become one of the world’s most prestigious art shows and put this city of 175,000 inhabitants on the map. This year’s show opened on June 18 at Messe Basel — which has become a landmark in its own right since its recent Herzog & de Meuron extension — and is set to close tomorrow. With a total of 38, few cities have as many museums per inhabitant as Basel, but the same can be said for innovative architects. “It has excellent craftsmanship and a long tradition of sustainability in architecture and construction. People here appreciate quality,” says Ursula Hürzeler of Rahbaran Hürzeler Architects. After working with architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau on international projects, Iranian Shadi Rahbaran was surprised to feel so at ease in a small city like Basel. “The life sciences industry and the architecture scene attract a large professional expat community, which makes for a great mixture of people where English is widely spoken,” she says. It is sometimes said the Swiss can be reluctant to engage with foreigners but that is not true of “Baselers”, says Andreas Hupfer, owner of rental agency Reales. “Sharing borders with two countries, we are used to foreigners and foreigners seem happy to live here.” Greater Basel, or the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel, has almost 1m inhabitants and stretches over three countries: Switzerland, France and Germany. Transport is seamless and offers variety as to where to live and work. Good international schools are also a big draw. In Basel almost 70 per cent of the housing stock is rental property, which is common in
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Swiss property: Art and architecture make Basel a class act - ...
file:///Users/sd/Downloads/Swiss property_ Art and architectu...
Switzerland. “But many expats are used to owning property and mostly prefer to buy if they stay longer than just a few years,” says Aglaia Xila, a Greek who works at Novartis. After a couple of years she bought a flat, which she has just sold to buy the house of her dreams. “It is easy to buy here.” The Rhine runs through the exclusive Altstadt — or “old town” — and within walking distance of the river and the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois is a modern loft of 250 sq metres with three bedrooms in a 15th-century courtyard, listed at CHF2.5m with Re/Max. Other exclusive neighbourhoods are leafy Bachletten, Bruderholz, St Alban, Wettstein and Riehen. A 300 sq metre villa in Riehen with four bedrooms and a garden is listed for CHF2.5m with Engel & Völkers. The same agents are selling a four-bedroom house with pool in Dorneck for CHF3.59m. In St Johann, next to the French border, and Klybeck on the other side of the river, new restaurants, cafés and shops are popping up. The mixture of 1970s purpose-built flats, 19th-century houses and former industrial buildings offer a variety of options for urban living. In attractive districts prices per sq metre are typically CHF10,500-12,000 for villas whereas the price for flats is CHF6,000-12,000. For newbuilds, the starting rate is CHF9,000 per sq metre. Property prices have risen less in Basel than in hotspots such as Zürich and Geneva and are now proving more resilient: according to Engel & Völkers, villa prices in the Basel Four-bedroom house with pool in Dorneck, CHF3.59m region went up 1.2 per cent in the latter half of 2014 compared with the Swiss average of 0.8 per cent. Due to banks’ diminished willingness to lend and ongoing changes in Swiss immigration policy, property prices generally seem to have stagnated. But it is hard to be sure because, in Switzerland, sales prices are not made public. “This reflects the Swiss mentality,” says Davy Hess at Engel & Völkers. “The Swiss do not like to talk about money.” Unsurprisingly, attractive property is often sold off-market. In terms of quality of life, classical music, art and theatre are part of Basel’s fabric, as is football — FC Basel play at St Jakob-Park. At weekends, locals typically put on walking boots and head out of Basel. In the summer, they can swim in the Rhine or pursue other watersports, with skiing on offer in winter. Buying guide
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Swiss property: Art and architecture make Basel a class act - ...
file:///Users/sd/Downloads/Swiss property_ Art and architectu...
● Basel’s EuroAirport is well-connected to international cities. The airport at Zürich is also an hour’s train ride away ● A CHF1m property purchase will incur a notary cost of CHF5,000-CHF6,000 ● Basel is the warmest city in Switzerland: the average maximum temperature in July is 26C, and it can hit 6C in December ● The adjacent Swiss countryside, Jura mountains and the Schwarzwald offer a wealth of recreational choices What you can buy for!.!.!.! CHF325,000 A one-bedroom flat in the city centre, close to Messe Basel CHF1.8m A four-bedroom-flat in leafy Bottmingen CHF2.3m A five-bedroom villa with a pool on the outskirts of Basel Main photograph: Reinhard Schmid/4Corners Images Share
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