The Klybeck Quarter yesterday, today and tomorrow

Until 2008, the Klybeckquai was restricted to harbour use: An inaccessible terra incognita on the waterfront. Fontana Landschaftsarchitektur’s concept made large parts of the quay accessible by concentrating the Rhine harbour uses. The temporary design of the Klybeckquai created the framework and scope for the first interim uses. By 2021, this temporary space was older than it should ever have become. The steadily growing pressure of use and decay made renovation necessary. The steadily growing pressure of use and decay made renovation necessary.

The temporary structure has allowed experiments, has revealed possibilities, but also limits. The continuous process made it possible to incorporate these experiences into the next steps. For while the population appreciates and uses the temporary Klybeckquai, the 2019 master plan already outlines the long-term development of the Klybeck district: The former Klybeck Island, which had been turned into the enclosed area of the Rhine harbour by the filling in of the old Rhine at the beginning of the 20th century, is to become an open neighbourhood on the waterfront by 2035 – and thus the favourable location is to become a sustainable benefit for the people of Basel:

In future, people will live and work between two public open spaces, the Rhine promenade and the Gleispark in the area of the former watercourse and the later Gleisharfe. Crossings that lead linearly through the neighbourhood to the Rhine will make the water present in the second and third rows of buildings as well. The valuable ruderal flora and fauna will retain their habitat in the Gleispark. Residents will find peace and community in inner courtyards. On the other hand, recreational life and subcultures will be given space to develop on the waterfront of the Westquai, the island on the other side of the Wiese tributary.

A fundamentally new era in the relationship of this quarter to the Rhine begins.