22 floors of restrained elegance, soaring over the south-east of the Swiss city of Basel. The facade’s clean, clear geometrical lines and minimalist aesthetics are a strong visual statement of the building’s urbanity and sustainability.
The two dovetailed parts of the building – a six-floor podium block housing a hotel, and the 78-meter office tower – are clad in a grid of transparent and opaque elements that is visible from afar. The charcoal-colored facade sections give the impression of metal panels from a distance. In fact, the elegant effect is made up of CIGS thin-film solar modules integrated seamlessly into the building exterior.
This turnkey photovoltaic facade uses CIGS thin-film modules from NICE Solar Energy on substructures by facade specialists Sto.
Custom-made module formats fulfill virtually every architectural wish. Over 450 custom module types in various sizes and lengths up to 3,300 mm were used for Grosspeter Tower. The special module design creates the visual illusion of tapering.
Each of the bespoke facade elements is made up of two to three solar substrates bonded to a carrier board of expanded glass granulate and attached to the concealed rear-ventilated facade substructure using clasp fastener profiles.
The frameless solar modules with quality low-reflection glass effect create an elegantly simple facade that allows Grosspeter Tower to seamlessly blend into the Basel cityscape, while serving as a landmark in aesthetic and sustainable architecture.
