Herzog & de Meuron stack a city into a tower—volumes piled like urban geology, turning Basel’s station district into a vertical neighborhood.
Skyscraper in Basel, Switzerland.
Featured in Herzog & de Meuron's definitive monograph, Herzog & de Meuron: Natural History.
Visitor Guide
Circle Meret Oppenheim-Platz first, then approach: the tower reads differently depending on whether you’re seeing it as skyline or street wall.
Meret Oppenheim-Platz—late afternoon for depth in the stacked volumes; blue hour for a clean silhouette against the station lights.
Mixed-use: ground-level café/restaurant are public; offices and residences are private. Treat it as a public-realm + street-level program visit unless you have a reason to go higher.
The 'stack' is program logic made visible—different uses occupy different volumes, and the facade composition basically tells you where life vs work begins.
30–60 minutes
Design & Structure
Massing as urban diagram: stacked volumes aligned to program and context, resolved through meticulous façade articulation. Digital tools coordinate volume shifts, façade modules, and mixed-use servicing.
A crisp contemporary façade system (metal/glass) tuned to make the stacked volumes legible; street-level transparency to animate the square.
Load transfer across shifted volumes requires careful structural planning—stacking is never just aesthetic; it’s an engineering negotiation.
See Together
Buildings that pair well with Meret Oppenheim Tower — they're nearby or share a compelling architectural conversation.
More by Herzog & de Meuron
View all →Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
De Young Museum
Parrish Art Museum
Walker Art Center
Elbphilharmonie
Cartoonmuseum Basel – Centre for Narrative Art
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Meret Oppenheim Tower?+
Meret Oppenheim Tower was designed by Herzog & de Meuron and completed in 2019. It is located in Basel-Gundeldingen, Switzerland.
Where is Meret Oppenheim Tower located?+
Meret Oppenheim Tower is located in Basel-Gundeldingen, Switzerland. Its coordinates are 47.5463°, 7.5873°.
When was Meret Oppenheim Tower built?+
Meret Oppenheim Tower was completed in 2019. It was designed by Herzog & de Meuron.
Can I visit Meret Oppenheim Tower?+
Meret Oppenheim Tower is a real building in Basel-Gundeldingen that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.