Basel Zoo is the oldest in Switzerland and will also be the first to have a large aquarium. The Oceanarium will be built on the border of the zoo from the city center, so it was especially important to fit the new building into the urban context.
The winner, Boltshauser Architekten from Zurich, proposed the smallest above ground volume of all the finalists, and the jury was also attracted by the restraint of their design, both in the facades and in the interior. It fits well with the context and will not distract visitors from the animals (this is a long-standing architectural policy of the zoo). Also, the judges of the competition noted in the project the functionality of the distribution of areas and the thoughtfulness of the inspection route.
The second prize went to the project of the Swiss bureaus HHF Architekten and Burckhardt Partner, the third - to the workshop of Zaha Hadid. From the fourth to the seventh places were taken by the Swiss: Morger + Dettli Architekten; Luca Selva Architekten & pool Architekten;: mlzd; bureau Daniele Marques.
In the semifinals, options from the Caruso St. John, David Chipperfield, EM2N Architekten, Bernard Chumi, Tatiana Bilbao.
At the initial stage, the jury rejected the projects of Behnisch Architekten, MVRDV, Bachelard Wagner Architekten.
Within the framework of the Basel at Sea program, the zoo plans to submit the aquarium project for approval to the city authorities in mid-2014, and implement it in 2016–2019. It will be a building with an area of 14,000 m2, where such different animals as sharks, rays, penguins, coral polyps will live in reservoirs with a total volume of 4,000 m3. Ebb and flow ecosystems and mangrove forests will be recreated. The budget will be 60-80 million Swiss francs.
