In Basel, Herzog & DeMeuron currently have another project under construction. `Baselworld`, the annual watch and jewellery fair, and ArtBasel, have outgrown the current accommodation and will expand into a new exhibition hall designed by HdeM, to be completed April 2013. Parts of the façade under construction can now be seen in the gallery below.

`Art Basel` is an international art fair held every spring, and is sometimes referred to as the `Olympics of the art world`. It is the largest annual art fair in the world; more than 300 leading galleries from across the globe display and trade contemporary art. The event commonly attracts celebrities – Brad Pitt and artist Damien Hirst have been known to frequent Art Basel.

`Baselworld` is an annual watch and jewellery trade show which first began in 1925. Watchmakers, and jewellery brands from Switzerland and the world display and trade their products under one roof, with individual stands designed, constructed, demolished and re-built each year. These stands can cost up to 8 million francs each (AUD$8.3million)! Despite the economic crisis, this luxury event continues to thrive allowing artists, designers and architects to create exceptional temporary show stands that last a total of no more than 8 days. A particularly interesting stand exhibited this year was designed by Japanese Artist architect, Tokujin Yoshioka, for Swarovski.

Janine Campbell

Photo credits: Janine Campbell