Burckhardt Architektur AG emerged as the unanimous winner of the competition against six other participants with its project «The Pioneer House». The «Kocherei» building on the Attisholz site in Riedholz (Solothurn) will be supplemented with a new southern section, creating a total usable space of 18,000m². The project will be implemented between 2024 and 2026.

A new direction for a unique industrial story
Founded in 1881, the Attisholz site was used to produce industrial cellulose for 130 years. It has been open to the public since 2018, and will be transformed into part of the «urban village» of Riedholz over the coming years. Burckhardt will be adding a new western section to the existing Kocherei building, which will emerge as a distinct, cubic structure facing the Attisboulevard and forming a block along the northern Kocherei plateau. «This will be a place that encourages people to act, to tackle challenges and to make things happen – a place of possibility!» explains Christoph Jantos, project manager and member of the Basel site management team.

The Pioneer House: bridging the gap with the past
The industrial atmosphere of days gone by is incorporated into this new architectural expression, creating an innovative and attractive showcase project focusing on contemporary social needs. The project will include as many sustainable elements as possible to ensure it remains an attractive and liveable shared space in the future, too.

The Pioneer House project design can be viewed from 30 March 2023, 5pm, at an on-site exhibition in the Eisenmagazin on Aareplatz.

Media Release 28.3.2023