The Schaulager Satellite for the Laurenz Foundation is a temporary structure which was built on the occasion of Art Basel, the premier international art fair held yearly in the city. Located in the main exhibition plaza, in the interior of the fair facilities, the pavilion stood alongside one of the existing buildings of the Messe Basel complex.

This ephemeral piece is an abstraction of the forecourt of the original Schaulager where the main facade is intended to create a public plaza. The earlier building, conceived for the storage of contemporary art, was completed by the Swiss architects in 2003 near Münchenstein, and has limited accesibility. The recognizable form of the Schaulager is duplicated in this temporary pavilion to address the multiple pedestrian entries that are located on either side of the Messeplatz.

The specific location of the pavilion aims to improve the quality of the public space during the construction of the adjacent Messe Basel New Hall, also designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Situated next to Hall 2 of the Messe Basel, the Schaulager Satellite sits on a public wooden stage constructed to cover an existing fountain.

The base platform provides a venue for other areas of the building program such as a cafeteria, the Schaulager bookstore, a reception area and two commissioned art pieces. These programmatic elements are contained within four ‘boxes’ in the familiar form of the archetypal house, and which organize public circulation and access to Hall 2. In addition to containing program elements, three of these boxes provide structural support to the floating mass above. The volume is accessed through a grand stairway that occupies the core of the pavilion.

The hovering pavilion contains a 6-meter high faceted room, that follows the exterior shape. Inside, the contents are displayed within thick walls finished with white fabric. A mix of small and large panoramic niches embedded in the walls display artists’ artefacts, while LED video monitors and speakers provide information in the more intimate pointed corners of the building. A large opening to both below and above provides natural light, air circulation and a connection to the public space below.