Roche Tower

The Roche Tower is an office skyscraper in the Swiss city of Basel. It was designed by Herzog & de Meuron for the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and stands 178 metres (584 ft) tall with 41 floors. When it opened, it was the tallest building in Switzerland, taller than the Prime Tower in Zürich by 52 metres.

The building has a total floor space of 74,200 m² (799,000 sq ft) and cost CHF 550 million to construct. It provides space for around 2,000 employees.

In 2020, the Roche Tower was surpassed in height by an even taller building next door, Building 2, which reaches 205 metres.

History

Construction of Building 1 began in 2012 and it was officially opened on September 18, 2015. When it was finished, it became the tallest building in Switzerland, taller than the Prime Tower in Zürich, which had been the tallest for almost four years. Swiss cities have strict rules for building, so there are not many tall buildings called skyscrapers in the country.

Architecture and engineering

The Roche Tower is built on strong supports that go deep into the ground to keep it stable, even during earthquakes. Basel, where the tower is located, is in an area where earthquakes can happen more often than in other parts of Switzerland. The tower is designed to stay safe during very big earthquakes, much bigger than what the rules usually require.

The tower has special walls that help keep it clean and protect it from the sun while still letting people see outside. It also uses smart lights that change with the daylight and systems that control heating, cooling, and air. These systems help save energy by using water from underground and reusing warmth from other parts of the building.