Foundation Stone Laid for uptownBasel: A "Quantum Leap" for Industry
On 7 June 2019, guests from business, science and politics celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for the uptownBasel site in Arlesheim (BL). On what is currently the largest construction site in northwestern Switzerland, a competence center for Industry 4.0 is emerging. uptownBasel brings leading companies to the Basel economic region to work in a connected way. The first leases are signed, and as early as next year the first specialists will be working on the innovations of tomorrow.
A hub for smart manufacturing
Successfully implementing Industry 4.0 matters greatly for Switzerland as a business location. On the roughly 70,000 m² Schoren site, uptownBasel is building the smart manufacturing hub of northwestern Switzerland, with around 2,000 jobs by 2025. The investment of CHF 400 to 500 million comes from the family office of Thomas Staehelin, long-time president of the Chamber of Commerce of both Basel. uptownBasel AG acquired the site in 2016 and commissioned site developer Hans-Jörg Fankhauser with its overall development.
Foundation stone together with the cantonal government
The official ceremony took place with Government Councillors Sabine Pegoraro and Thomas Weber, National Councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter and around 100 invited guests.
Thomas Staehelin, investor and Chairman of the Board of uptown Basel AG, described his vision: "We want to stimulate innovation processes and thereby carefully steer the development of our site. We see ourselves as a catalyst and create space for companies that want to jointly shape the industry of the future."
For the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, the development of the site is a great opportunity, says Government Councillor Thomas Weber: "With the competence center for Industry 4.0, the development of Basel-Landschaft's industry makes a quantum leap. uptownBasel is the place where the future of modern industrial manufacturing begins." National Councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter summed it up: "Another piece of industrial history being written."
Seven construction phases until 2025
The Schoren site, where the electricity company Alioth once built locomotives for the SBB, offers many advantages. It is well connected and, close to the regional research centres, the ideal location for this project of the future. The competence center will consist of seven production halls and 35,000 m² of office space, with new halls built and existing buildings repurposed by 2025.
The modern buildings are designed for the demands of industrial, digital production, closely linked to the Internet of Things, cyber security, electromobility, new battery technology, virtual reality, robotics and 3D printing. uptownBasel is also meant to become a lighthouse project for sustainability, among other things through the integrated use of waste heat from the planned data centres and a modern wood-chip plant fuelled by waste wood to supply energy to the whole site.
Axians and Bouygues have signed
The project creates space for 2,000 jobs and 50 innovative companies from the IT and IoT sectors. "The campus is aimed at technology companies that seek connected working," says Hans-Jörg Fankhauser. "The goal is for uptownBasel, with its gateway function, to become the hub for the exchange of industrial cooperation networks."
With Axians and Bouygues, two large European technology groups will shape the first building and complement each other ideally. Both are globally connected and driving forces of energy, digital and industrial change. "We look forward to uptownBasel and are convinced that this emerging competence center for Industry 4.0 will take on a pioneering role far beyond the region," says Thomas Ernst, member of the Board of VINCI Energies Switzerland AG. Stéphane Schneider, CEO of Bouygues Energies & Services Switzerland, presented his company as the second tenant, due to move in the following year.
70 percent of the first building already leased
Construction of the first major building, "The Pioneer," began in March 2019. The five-storey building has three column-free halls spanned by steel girders. Above the production halls, 9,000 m² of office space will provide modern workspaces for around 600 technology specialists. The first building, with a total usable area of 25,000 m², was scheduled to be ready for occupancy at the end of 2020, with 70 percent of the space already leased.
Source: Foundation stone laid for uptownBasel: a "quantum leap" for industry – Digital Media Kit
