Breaking the bounds of of Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani's master plan, Fabrikstrasse 15 by Frank Gehry stands in a surprising juxtaposition to the serene array of rectilinear buildings that dominate the Novartis campus. It is located at the geographic heart of the campus, in full view of the company's renovated 1939 Forum 1 International Headquarters building, and across the street from a refined stretch of porticoed offices and labs by Adolf Krischanitz, Rafael Moneo, Lampugnani, and Yoshio Taniguchi. The highly visible, independent site gave the architect freedom to exploit his expansive, free-spirited style. Relieved from many of the constraints binding the

At first glance the Novartis headquarters appears to be an average, though impeccable, corporate facility. Situated on the east bank of the Rhine near the borders of France and Germany in the St. Johann district of Basel, Switzerland, the 50-acre campus is sheltered by trees, old buildings, busy thoroughfares, and the river. But that impression shifts as one approaches the ethereal reception pavilion, designed by Swiss architect Marco Serra, and glimpses the diversity of building forms beyond it. A work in progress, the Novartis campus is the brainchild of Chairman of the Board Daniel Vasella, who began a collaboration with

From certain angles, the house resembles the gable-roofed cottages in the Swiss village of Riedikon, which dates back at least to the early 8th century, on the lake known as Greifensee, near Zurich. Come closer and you realize this house, with its pitched, tentlike roof, its strip window following the angled roofline, and its enclosing screen of 315 vertical spruce slats, rough sawn on the sides and CNC-milled on the front and back, is nothing like its neighbors. The 3,175-square-foot house, designed by Zurich firm Gramazio & Kohler Architecture and Urbanism, is a reinterpretation of the regional typology that, as

The Swiss have long held a reputation for creating products of impeccable precision. Tilo Herlach, Simon Hartmann, and Simon Frommenwiler, partners in the Basel-based HHF Architects, have found early international success by turning that stereotype on its head.

Project Specs Rolex Learning Center Lausanne, Switzerland SANAA << Return to article the People Client EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Architect Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA1-5-27 Tatsumi, Koto-ku 135-0053 Tokyo, JAPAN Email: sanaa@sanaa.co.jp Team: Yumiko Yamada, Rikiya Yamamoto, Osamu Kato, Mizuko Kaji, Naoto Noguchi, Takayuki Hasegawa, Louis-Antoine Grego Total Service Contractor Losinger Construction SA Bussigny, Switzerland Commercial Phase: *Bernard Chauvet, Directeur Délégué Agence valdo-genevoise Construction Phase: *Eric Maïno, Directeur Exploitation *Cédric Luce, Chef de Service Adjoint Project Management Botta Management Group AG Baar, Switzerland *Charles R. Botta, President, CEO *Pierre Eller, Project Manager Local Architect Architram SA

Record Houses 2010: Mountain House Pittman Dowell Residence Project X Tree House Villa Vals Woodstock Farm Well Hall Project Specs Villa Vals Vals, Switzerland SeARCH and CMA << Return to article the People Architect: SeARCH and CMA SeARCH bv Hamerstraat 3 NL - 1021 JT  Amsterdam T +31 (0)20 788 99 00 F +31 (0)20 788 99 11 info@search.nl www.search.nl Design: Bjarne Mastenbroek and Christian Müller Christian Müller Architects Delftseplein 36 NL - 3013 AA  Rotterdam T +31 (0) 10 213 67 63 mail@christian-muller.com www.christian-muller.com Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Assistants: SeARCH > Louis Toebosch, Ton Gilissen,