Hey everyone, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my new post and hope you all have a week so far which has brought some interesting experiences into your life! In this article I would like to share something about an experience I had on my trip in Basel and hope you are able to expand your knowledge.
This building which at first glance is somewhat reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, is also the main building of the Bank for International Settlements, which is not only important for the economy, but also has a high priority because of the breathtaking architecture. The special thing about Basel is that both old and modern architecture are linked here and I liked the building of the bank together with the towers of Roche best when it comes to modern architecture and this building is located directly in the area of the main station in Basel and can be reached in just a few minutes from there. This central location is perfect for a visit, but there is to mention here that it can only be visited from the outside, visits of the interior area are theoretically also possible as I have read but not in the public setting and before it can be visited, permits are required and for the normal visitor of the city this will probably not be of relevance, but from the outside it's also already a great experience.
The tower is about 70 meters high and the construction began in 1972 and lasted a total of five years and the leading architects behind it were the Swiss Martin Burckhardt as well as Alfred Roth. In total, more than 20 floors are housed at this building and together with the other location, about 600 employees work for the bank in Basel and the other location is located at Aeschenplatz. The BIS soon celebrate their 100th anniversary and was founded in 1930 and roughly about the functioning can be said that it's a merger of different central positions from the banking sector who are working together on a global level and ensures the stability of the currency system. Everything that has to do with the topic of currencies or finance takes place here and in addition, not only current situations that take place on a global level were discussed here, but also analyses of topics that may be relevant in the future and even if countries are in financial crises, a lot is going on here when it comes to support.
At first glance, the architecture seems rather simple and technological, but after taking a closer look it becomes clear that various elements have been combined here. In any case, it can be assigned to the modern architecture and it was important for the construction to meet the necessary requirements for safety and of course to offer the employees a pleasant atmosphere at work, which clearly also includes the appropriate lighting conditions. Concrete was mainly used in the construction and the cylinder shape was specially chosen to save as much space as possible and care was probably also taken during construction to make the building look simple to match the bank and to give a professional impression. It's rather neutral of the construction and I think it was also specifically associated with the neutral values of Switzerland and to symbolically express them, but I can't say anything more precisely about the symbolic behind it and it was probably also important to create a building that can adapt well to the growth in the technological area in the next few decades.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new! I captured these pictures with my Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens and iPhone 16.
