Herzog & de Meuron

Roche Building 1, Basel, Switzerland

Laying of the foundation stone, 9 May 2012
Speech by Pierre de Meuron

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Dear Mr Humer,
Dear Mr Schwan,
Dear Representatives of the city of Basel,
Ladies and Gentlemen!

We at Herzog & de Meuron have been involved with the development of the Roche Site since 1993,
and over the years have been able to complete several projects in close collaboration with Roche:
Building 92 Building 95 Building 97
Today, almost 20 years after our first joint project, we are laying another foundation stone, this time for
Building 1. I would like to thank Roche, and in particular the Executive Committee and the Basel Site
management, for the unique collaboration and great mutual trust that has developed steadily over the
past twenty years.

Aside from many projects all over the world, for over 30 years Herzog & de Meuron has made an
important point of pursuing projects here in the Basel metropolitan area always starting from the
urban development level. This brings us to a question that comes up time and again:

How can architecture contribute to planning and shaping a city to fulfil its metropolitan role?

The two buildings currently under construction for Roche and the Messe Basel are such examples of
metropolitan stature. At the same time, the huge dimensions of these projects represent a challenge
and responsibility not to be underestimated by the builder and architect. At these two locations in the
city, a new benchmark is being set, which will have implications for the future of urban development,
both close to home and further afield.

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Herzog & de Meuron

Roche Building 1, Basel, Switzerland
Laying of the foundation stone, 9 May 2012
Speech by Pierre de Meuron

Realising such visionary projects calls for dedicated and innovative clients. Roche has always
understood how to develop a vision for their industrial site that preserves the ideas and original master
plan of Salvisberg. At the same time, they have formulated a strategy the "game plan" for the sites
future development. This plan has evolved organically from the earliest site of Hoffmann-La Roche
AG, and it is committed both to Modernist building tradition and Roches present quality standards. All
new buildings complement each other in this overall plan and thus combine operational and economic
needs with urban planning requirements.

From this "game plan" and the decision towards densification arises our urban development
responsibility, which extends far beyond the Roche site, and which is relevant to the whole of Basel,
and even the whole of Switzerland and the current debate on urban sprawl. Today we live in a world
disfigured by development and construction. Due to its sheer bulk, building has become a threat to
natural beauty and historic cityscapes. Thus, targeted densification is called for today, in places that
are already dense and urban, and where public transport and infrastructure are available. In Basel,
this applies to areas such as Dreispitz, the three train stations and the Roche site.

With its 42 storeys and height of 178 metres, Building 1 will be the most striking edifice not only on the
site, but also in the entire metropolitan area far and wide. Indeed, the building, with its height and
simple but distinctive outline, anchors the Roche site in the Basel city landscape: Seen from the city, it
is essential that the building, despite its great height, does not appear monumental or even
overwhelming similar to the prominent church towers of old with their tapered spires.

Building 1 thus affirms the vertical, and embraces a formal simplicity, in a building tradition that is not
distinguished by a certain shape or colour, but that speaks a long-familiar language and that
characterises Roches architectural heritage. Rectangular geometry, ribbon windows running
horizontally, and the white colour scheme are all typical features of the sites existing design language.

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Herzog & de Meuron

Roche Building 1, Basel, Switzerland
Laying of the foundation stone, 9 May 2012
Speech by Pierre de Meuron

However, the real innovation of Building 1 is its internal structure: The communication paths and
places for people characterise the interior of the office tower as a kind of vertical city. This is an
innovative building typology, which focuses on the movements of the people as one of the key
moments. The office tower is to be a communicative urban space in contrast to a conventional office
building, where each floor is separated from the next and is connected only by a central core.

Multi-storey, common communication zones, distributed over the entire building, serve as points of
reference and are connected across two or three floors by spacious spiral staircases this also pays
homage to Salvisberg's elegant curved stairway in the administration building of 1935-36. In
Building 1, urban-like zones provide a stage for public life: Casual communication and random
encounters occupy a much larger space than in typical office buildings. Roche employees can step out
onto one of the numerous outdoor terraces also rather unusual in an office tower.

We want to create architecture for (Roche) employees as people. The main focus is on the quality of
the working spaces; beside the functional aspects, the aesthetic, sensuous quality is also extremely
important! Architecture unites both aspects. It is a discipline that is both consciously perceived and
subconsciously absorbed through practice and habit, in other words: architecture serves not only
physical needs; it is not only functional, it also caters to emotional needs, to a sense of well-being.
Roche Building 1 also offers a high degree of flexibility with regard to future needs and requirements.
The shallow room depth with direct connections between indoors and outdoors allows everyone to
work in natural daylight, while avoiding any disturbance caused by direct sunlight shining on computer
screens or desktops.

From the planners point of view, our common goal is to hand over this ambitious project in 2015 on
time and on budget and with the highest standards of quality. This requires close cooperation with
reliable and dedicated partners. In this spirit I would now like to thank, also on behalf of our planning
partner Drees + Sommer, all of you involved in the project here, and in particular the project leader
Claus Herrmann and his team.
Once again, thank you very much!

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