Douanne Burgfelden
 

Bale, Switzerland
Competition 2015

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The Burgfelden border is located on the western outskirts of Basel and the main road leads in an almost straight line from the inner city to it. The last section is lined by the UPK landscape park and extensive family gardens. This green belt has a rural character. On the French side, St. Louis and the Burgfelden district are directly adjacent to the border.

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In this way, we created a constructive design with chosen materials that lend the customs roofing and at the same time a presence and lightness. The scale of the building and the family gardens is used and a delicate structure mediates between the existing and the new building.  The architecture of the customs cabin and the BVB infrastructure building is derived from the construction method and tectonics of the roadway roofing.

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The wooden construction and the photovoltaic system are committed to the idea of sustainability. The PV modules consist of transparent glass-glass modules. The crystalline photovoltaic cells are integrated between two glasses. Instead of a usually white back foil, another glass is used for the backside of these modules. The modules thus become translucent due to the spaces between the individual cells. With the entire roof surface, approx. 50 MWh of electrical energy can be generated per year. The energy is fed into the electricity grid and enables the supply of approx. 15 households with renewable energy.

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