Creating places. Connecting people.
Campus Klybeck is shaped by the people who bring it to life. Since 2020, Swiss Life has enabled and supported numerous projects, temporary uses and initiatives. They have brought the site to life, created new meeting places and shaped the Campus Klybeck of today. This page provides an insight into the wide range of projects and shows how the site has developed step by step.
Projects, initiatives and temporary uses
Documenting the Klybeck Site
The association Gesellschaft für verwobene Imaginationen (GVI) is documenting the Klybeck site through photography and drawings. The project is being carried out by Boris Haberthür and Justinas Žuklys, with support from Maxim Zaugg. Its aim is to capture the site’s spatial, architectural and atmospheric qualities before its transformation and make them accessible to a broad audience. The first phase of the project will culminate in an exhibition presenting different perspectives on Klybeck’s past, present and future. A publication and a digital knowledge archive are also planned to ensure long-term access to the collected material and encourage continued engagement with the site.
Digital Accelerator
The Digital Accelerator Basel is a multi-month support programme for early-stage technology start-ups. It focuses on connecting participants with relevant stakeholders, providing targeted mentoring and facilitating access to the Basel region’s innovation ecosystem. Campus Klybeck hosted this year’s Accelerator and provided the venue for several programme events. In doing so, the campus actively supports young companies and makes innovation visible and tangible.
Temporary School Kleinhüningen
During the complete renovation of Kleinhüningen Primary School, a Swiss Life property on the Klybeck site is serving as a temporary school location. The facility at Altrheinweg 26 is being used by the Canton of Basel-Stadt for the duration of the construction work. The location was selected due to factors including its proximity to the existing school, its accessibility and the safety of the route to school. For two years, the temporary school buildings will also turn the site into a place of learning and everyday neighbourhood life.
2 x Christmas
The Basel Red Cross initiative “2 x Christmas”, coordinated by Katja Gribi and numerous volunteers, has been using premises at Campus Klybeck for several years. Food and hygiene packages are assembled and distributed on site to people affected by poverty in Basel. The project combines social engagement with practical support for people facing difficult circumstances. In 2026, the campaign took place at Campus Klybeck for the sixth time.
QIOSK – Migranten helfen Migranten
Since 2023, the QIOSK at Klybeckplatz has been operated by Alima and the Migranten helfen Migranten association under the direction of Alima Diouf. Its offering includes international lunch menus, snacks and catering, while also serving as an integration and employment project. In good weather, the QIOSK is open from Monday to Friday during the summer months. As an open meeting place, it encourages interaction between people working on the site, local residents and visitors.
QEK Dialogue Workshops
Under the leadership of the Department of Construction and Transport of the Canton of Basel-Stadt (BVD), around 20 members of the public volunteer in the klybeckplus dialogue group to support the development of the new urban district. During regular meetings, they engage directly with the planners and contribute a public perspective to the development of klybeckplus.
The dialogue group helps identify information needs and unresolved questions at an early stage, creates a better understanding of the planning processes and facilitates discussion of important planning instruments such as the development plan. A total of five meetings are planned for 2025 and 2026.
Further information: www.quartierentwicklung-klybeckplus.ch
Temporary Use by unterdessen – Site 1 North
On Site 1 North, the unterdessen association enabled the temporary use of several existing buildings on the Klybeck site on behalf of Swiss Life. More than 60 individuals, associations, creative professionals and companies used the spaces for studios, offices, cultural projects, sports and leisure activities. The users included the Humbug cultural venue, various architecture, communications and graphic design offices, the Padel Basel hall and numerous artists and cultural practitioners. The temporary use helped bring life to the site ahead of its long-term development, foster new networks and make the Klybeck site accessible to a wide range of people.
Padel Basel
From 2020 to 2025, the Padel Basel association operated a padel hall on the Klybeck site as part of the temporary use managed by unterdessen. In addition to regular padel activities, the premises accommodated various other programmes, including the Basel Circus School, a yoga studio, Boulder Basel and a range of events. With its accessible sports offering, the project attracted numerous people to the site every day and made an important contribution to revitalising the location.
HuusHoch – Building New from Old!
The “HuusHoch – Building New from Old!” building culture workshops were led by architect Maria Ochocka, founder of the architecture education initiative Archidzieciaki, together with Aleksandra Melion, Leon Faust, Nora Haberstroh and Tim Hercka. In Building 105 on the Klybeck site, children aged four to ten explored questions relating to space, architecture, repurposing and the reuse of construction materials through play. Supported by architects, landscape architects and planners, they developed their own ideas and worked together to build models and structures. The aim was to introduce children to building culture and sustainable urban development from an early age.
Madame Frigo
The public Madame Frigo refrigerator was operated on the Klybeck site by the association of the same name. As a freely accessible sharing platform, it allowed members of the public to donate or collect surplus food that was still suitable for consumption, thereby helping to reduce food waste. The refrigerator was maintained by volunteers from the neighbourhood. The initiative encouraged the responsible use of resources while also strengthening connections within the local community.
Working World of Chemistry
The “Working World of Chemistry” exhibition was operated by the Association for Industrial and Migration History of the Basel Region and occupied premises on the Klybeck site as a temporary use. Through eyewitness accounts, documents and images, it offered insights into everyday working life in Basel’s chemical industry and Klybeck’s history as an important industrial location. Its aim was to make the site’s industrial heritage visible and accessible to a broad audience. The Chemistry Museum is now located at Klybeckstrasse 200.
Vertical Dance Hub Basel
The Vertical Dance Hub Basel established a permanent infrastructure for vertical dance on the Klybeck site under the artistic direction of Rebekka Gather and Ella Cocset from the duo Tempo di Borea. It opened in 2022 with the performance “Dance of the Silkworms”. The hub provided space for training, artistic residencies and workshops for children, adults and professional dancers.
KLYBEQ PORTE
For decades, KLYBEQ PORTE served as an entrance and exit for employees and visitors to the industrial site. Swiss Life opened it as a versatile venue and meeting place. The space was made available to associations, cultural practitioners, companies and initiatives for workshops, talks, exhibitions, association events and project work. Its first uses included events organised as part of the Industrienacht Regio Basel and an exhibition by Morger Partner Architekten during Architekturwoche Basel.
plankton – Urban Community-Supported Agriculture
plankton is a Basel-based community-supported agriculture project exploring new forms of local, community-based and resource-efficient food production. As part of a temporary use, the project operated a site at Klybeckplatz from 2023 to 2024, where vegetables, herbs and other edible plants were cultivated according to regenerative principles. Through a vegetable subscription, participants received fresh produce from Basel every week while supporting local, fair and biodiversity-friendly production that helps regenerate the soil.
LUX MAGA
With the vertical dance performance “LUX MAGA”, the Tempo di Borea collective transformed Klybeckplatz into a temporary stage landscape. Initiated by dancer Rebekka Gather, the project combined dance on the building façade, live music, storytelling and light art in an artistic exploration of female strength, social exclusion and the historic witch trials in Basel. The performances were open to the public free of charge and brought cultural activities directly to the site.
Three Sites
For the “Three Sites” exhibition at Kunsthalle Basel, US artist Daniel Turner worked with materials from former buildings on the Klybeck site. With the support of Swiss Life, radiators, pipes, documents and other building components were recovered and transformed into new works of art. The exhibition explored Basel’s industrial, chemical and research history.
Opening of Platanenhof / New Neighbourhood Square
The removal of a wall near Restaurant Platanenhof made another part of the Klybeck site accessible to the public. The project was implemented by Swiss Life together with the Werknetz Klybeck association, the temporary-use association unterdessen, the Christoph Merian Foundation and the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Working with the local community, they created a publicly accessible open space. The opening of the square encouraged neighbourhood interaction and represented a tangible step towards opening up the site in line with the goals of klybeckplus.
Industrienacht Regio Basel
As part of Industrienacht Regio Basel, Swiss Life opened the Klybeck site to the public. Together with partner organisations including the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Clim’Ability Design, the Basel Regional Industrial Fire Brigade, the Association for Industrial and Migration History of the Basel Region and the Frauenstadtrundgang association, it offered a varied programme. Visitors were able to discover both the site’s industrial past and the prospects for its future.
QIOSK
QIOSK emerged from a competition organised by Swiss Life to bring the vacant kiosk at Klybeckplatz back to life. The operating team developed a concept combining food and drink, picnics and cultural events. With its accessible offering, QIOSK contributed to revitalising Klybeckplatz.
Klybeckplatz Is What We Make of It
With the initial project “Klybeckplatz Is What We Make of It”, the klybeckplus planning partners created a temporary open space for projects initiated by the public. Associations and local residents were able to implement their own ideas on the square. The projects received financial support, advice and organisational assistance. Klybeckplatz thereby became a testing ground for new uses and a place for people to meet.
Open Porte Day
With “Open Porte Day”, Swiss Life opened parts of the former industrial site to the Basel public for the first time. The event marked an early step in opening up the site and offered an opportunity to learn about the future plans for the development area and engage with those responsible. Ideas for the site’s first temporary uses were also discussed and initiated.
