Over the past few years, the Dreispitz site in Basle, which was originally an industrial and commercial area belonging to the bonded warehouse in the south of the city, has been transformed into an urban district with mixed uses. In addition to the existing commercial functions, the master plan by Herzog & de Meuron foresees housing, cultural and educational facilities designed to upgrade the area as a whole. The former warehouse building, dating from the 1960s, is a fine example of the way old and new, commercial and housing uses have been combined in this part of the city. The 18,000 m² entrepôt was refurbished and extended by a further 7,000 m².
 
In the existing building, one sought as far as possible to preserve the deep layouts with their great room heights and the rough exposed concrete surfaces for the commercial realms. The narrow window strips were enlarged. For the smaller-scale housing uses on top of the existing structure, the architects had to create other parameters. They divided the three-storey new volume into five segments and turned these by 45° against the older building. In this way, the facade area was enlarged, and it was possible to daylight the dwellings more effectively. The open spaces on the roof of the older warehouse will be landscaped in the future.