New rehearsal room for the Basel orchestras
The Basel-Stadt cantonal government approves the purchase contract for a church building on Picassoplatz. It is to be converted into a rehearsal room for the Basel orchestra and other potential users from the music sector and will be ready for occupation in spring 2017.
Erste Kirche Christi, Wissenschafter, Basel, approached the canton in search of a permanent reuse for the church building. The listed building by architect Otto Rudolf Salvisberg at Picassoplatz 2 in Basel dates from 1935/36 and is considered an exemplary modernist building.
A feasibility study commissioned by Immobilien Basel-Stadt has shown that the building can be converted into a good rehearsal room. The measures required for this have been agreed with the monument preservation authorities, according to the canton's press release. The purchase is part of the financial assets. The purchase price for the property is CHF 5.86 million plus VAT.
The existing rehearsal facilities currently pose major challenges for Basel orchestras: There are only a few suitable venues that are the right size and meet the required acoustic conditions. The renovation of the Stadtcasino from 2017 will also mean that the music hall will no longer be used for rehearsals for a number of years.
The Basel Symphony Orchestra (SOB) will take over the operation of the rehearsal room. As an "already existing and well-connected institution", potential user interests are thus optimally represented due to the close proximity to the orchestra and choir scene in the city of Basel in terms of content and structure, the canton writes further.
