«unterdessen»

«Humbug»

Until 2023 and beyond?

Science

Beats, padel and sewing machines

Novartis sold its share of Klybeck in 2019. But this has had no bearing on the ambitious plans for the neighborhood. Meanwhile, those actively involved in so-called temporary-use projects are also looking to the future with confidence.

Text by Patrick Tschan, photos by Adriano A. Biondo

In June 2017, a public information event was held to discuss “Klybeckplus.”

Table of contents

«unterdessen»

«Humbug»

Until 2023 and beyond?

Published on 18/10/2021

When Novartis sold the Klybeck site in 2019, Country President Matthias Leuenberger explained the move as follows: “As you know, we have quite enough room in Basel, we are, after all, at home on the Campus; we have invested a lot there in recent years. Now, the situation is that there is excess space in Klybeck that we no longer need. That’s why we decided some time ago to put the area to a new use. These were the considerations that led to the sale.”

Barely seven weeks later, BASF also sold its share of the site. Notwithstanding the sale, the basic conceptual plan for Klybeck’s redesign remained unchanged.

Indeed, to ensure that the future development of the site would be carried out constructively and in collaboration with all stakeholders – the landowners, the canton of Basel-Stadt and the local community – a planning agreement had been reached with the canton back in 2016 as part of the project “Klybeck plus.” The deal envisioned the formation of a new urban district with living and working areas, leisure and cultural facilities, schools, parks and much more.

This planning agreement is also binding for the site’s new owners Rhystadt AG and Swiss Life. In this way, Novartis and BASF, together with the canton, have ensured that Basel’s erstwhile industrial heartland will not be left at the mercy of speculators, even after the ownership transfer. The plan includes six planning phases, with a view to creating an attractive district that harmoniously blends into the existing urban fabric.

It took place in the Klybeck staff restaurant...

«unterdessen»

One of the early phases of the plan focuses on interim use, a widely used practice that aims to revitalize abandoned or dormant spaces for a temporary period – until construction works begin. Regardless of whether this takes place in former industrial sites, urban land reserves or discarded production or office buildings, the procedure remains the same: Temporarily vacant spaces are leased for interim use according to the short formula “cheap space in exchange for temporary occupation.”

In Klybeck, interim use is permitted for an initial period of five years. The management of the interim-use scheme on the former industrial site is entrusted to the association “unterdessen” (German for “in the meantime”), which is a leading player in this field. Commenting on the unique challenges facing his team in Klybeck, Pascal Biedermann, managing director of “unterdessen,” told Radio SRF1 in May 2019: “The interim use of Klybeck is quite special because here we are dealing with a new urban quarter that still needs to be planned, developed and constructed. The chemical industry will leave, a huge area will be freed up for new use, and the people from the neighborhood naturally first want to know: What’s going to happen here?”

Against this backdrop, “unterdessen” invited the neighborhood’s residents to a workshop in June 2018, at which they had the opportunity to discuss and share their visions about the site’s future. Over 100 people took part in the workshop, which sparked a plethora of creative ideas and suggestions, as SRF1’s Regionaljournal Basel reported: ”An oasis, a peaceful retreat in the otherwise dense and noisy city; lush green and open areas, breaking down the barriers – so that people have much more free space; a meeting place for young people with quiet zones on the one hand, but also sports opportunities to let off steam; a theater school for the neighborhood, a theater school for all generations, either here or on the other side of the river; fire and water, nothing soulless and sterile!”

The association “unterdessen” gained its first experiences in the Basel neighborhood of Gundeldingen in 2000, when the former production site of compressor manufacturer Sulzer Burckhardt was about to be converted into a mixed-use urban complex. The Gundeldingerfeld, as the area is now called, is a success story. Since then, “unterdessen” has carried out many redevelopment and interim-use projects. Managing Director Pascal Biedermann describes his team’s job as follows:

“We rent the object(s) from the property owner with a fixed-term contract in which the end term is explicitly stated. During the contract period, we either curate the space ourselves or delegate it and handle the administrative tasks that arise. We select the tenants, who then take an active role. You could say we are actually a real-estate management company, just a slightly different one. We take into account the interests of both the owners and the tenants, just like conventional agencies. We draw up contracts, do accounting, collect money, spend money and take care of maintenance. People often don’t realize that we do a lot of administrative work, as other property management companies do. We just do this under special circumstances, catering to the specific needs of special people.”

...and was met with lively interest.

«Humbug»

One of these special people is without a doubt Markus Wolff, who was the co-initiator of “Humbug,” probably the loudest and best-known interim project located in the abandoned area of the Klybeck site. Many of those involved – and those interested – see “Humbug” as something of a catalyst for other projects to follow suit. As in other European cities, such cultural initiatives often serve as nuclei around which new developments take root, given that pubs like “Humbug” are the first to make a previously closed area known to a broader public: “It is obvious that the first place to open its doors was a cultural institution. Because when a cultural institution is up and running, it attracts throngs of people, and people flock to the area and get to know it in a much different way.”

This approach stems from the many positive experiences associated with cultural land use. In fact, interim-use sites have become permanent in some cases. Yet launching an enterprise like “Humbug” in the first place requires not only a great deal of courage and enthusiasm, but also a fair amount of entrepreneurial passion. “The entrepreneurial risk involved in a cultural enterprise is absurd. If you look at it from a commercial point of view, you wouldn’t get involved in such a venture at all,” says Markus Wolff.

Christoph Moerikofer, founder of the Zukunft Klybeck association, mediator and coach.

Until 2023 and beyond?

The sounds coming from the hall next to “Humbug” offer a stark contrast to the noise of the pub. Padel is being played here, a mixture of tennis and squash. The Padel Club Basel has set up grids and plexiglass panels, which surround a shortened tennis court.

Meanwhile, in the former office space above “Humbug” and the padel hall, you can hear the rattling of Diana Ammann’s sewing machine.

Diana works as a freelance costume designer throughout Europe and is used to temporary studios. Describing what she appreciates about this location, she says: “I worked at home for a long time, but then decided to rent a studio. This way I can exchange ideas with other people and have a clear separation between work and home. That’s why it’s great for me here. I find it fascinating to have a place where I can go to work. I come from this neighborhood, I’ve lived here for a very long time, and that’s why I kind of have a connection to the site. And it’s nice to occasionally run into someone in the hallway who walks by or drops in to say hello.”

All interim uses have a fixed end date. By the end of 2023, “Humbug” must close its doors, the padel club must relocate its center court, and Diana Ammann must sew her costumes elsewhere.

Speaking about this fundamental rule, Pascal Biedermann says: “It’s a clear statement, five years, and everyone has to adapt to it. We always attach great importance to communicating this clearly and making sure that everyone understands it. We always say: Don’t have any illusions, we’ll stick to the contract, and if it goes longer, we’ll all be happy. That’s the way this business works.”

Markus Wolff from “Humbug,” however, took a more nuanced view when we talked to him in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re already looking further ahead, and we won’t let a contract like this stop us. Our plans go beyond the indicated timeline. If “Humbug” proves successful, then it’s also clear that it will continue. And if it cannot operate here after three and a half years, it will move somewhere else. But it doesn’t make sense from our point of view to leave Klybeck.”

Diana Ammann, on the other hand, is quite relaxed about the circumstances: “I am aware that this is an interim solution. I was previously based at Dreirosenbruecke in a temporary-use project with a much shorter lease – one and a half years. It is good for me to know that I still have a three-and-a-half-year contract here and don’t have to leave again soon. Besides, the time limit is not so bad for me. I have the feeling that you always find a new studio. I think I’m used to the constant change from my work. There are always new people coming; I’m relatively relaxed about it.”

No one knows today exactly how things might evolve from 2023 onward. There are still too many questions that need to be answered. Whether the master plan will be ready by 2023, whether the first bulldozers will be rolling by then, or whether new terms will be negotiated with the current tenants is still being discussed as part of the agreement between Novartis, BASF and the canton of Basel-Stadt. “Until then,” as they say in Basel, “a lot of water will flow down the Rhine.” Meanwhile, the temporarily used factory site in Klybeck will likely tremble with heavy beats and hot rhythms every weekend.

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Beats, padel and sewing machines

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