Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The newly built main campus of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area has been officially declared open. The building was designed by the world-renowned Basel-based architects Herzog & De Meuron.
Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin pushes the buzzer to open officially the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area Main Campus (© Mathias Mangold).
Three-canton park
Around 200 guests attended the official opening ceremony of Switzerland’s most modern innovation park, which is located in the Bachgraben area of Allschwil in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. The three supporting cantons of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area were represented by cantonal ministers Thomas Weber (Basel-Landschaft), Kaspar Sutter (Basel-Stadt), and Jacques Gerber (Jura).
The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area connects, supports, and engages people with ideas and passion in biotech, MedTech, digital health, personalized healthcare, health tech, and industrial transformation. Altogether, the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area has four sites that are strategically located in the tri-border region of Switzerland, France, and Germany. The investment and innovation promotion agency Basel Area Business & Innovation operates the whole park.
“The Basel Area life science cluster is not only of vital importance for the Swiss economy, but it also occupies a leading position in Europe and the world,” Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin stated in his speech at the formal opening. He emphasized his conviction that it will “further enhance the region’s importance”. Raymond Cron, CEO of Switzerland Innovation, expressed his desire that the innovation campus establishes itself as an international beacon for innovative projects in the field of health and life sciences.
The new building at the Main Campus of Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area (© ZVG, Herzog & de Meuron).
National network
Spanning 50,000 square meters, the cluster provides workplaces for around 2,000 individuals. Approximately 70 percent of the laboratory and office space on the main campus is currently being rented out to 38 companies and institutes. This includes the University of Basel, numerous startups, plus large companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Basilea.
This meeting point for biotech and healthcare trailblazers will actively promote vital exchange between residents and a state-of-the-art working environment such as light-flooded spaces, modern retail and gastronomy concepts, inner courtyard with greenery and terraces.
With its fourth site in the canton of Jura which is famous for its skills in the precision industry, Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area is looking to better connect progressive start-ups and existing high-tech companies in the region. The local health system allows for the testing of innovative ideas, for example concerning efficiency in hospitals or new applications in personalized healthcare.
Text: SCCIJ mainly with material of SIP Basel Area
