HeK is housed in a former warehouse building on the lively Dreispitzareal, new urban hub for culture, art and architecture. Its former use as a customs-free warehouse has been cleverly transformed into a flexible, interdisciplinary venue by Basel-based studio Rüdisühli Ibach Architects.

The conversion was facilitated by the generous funding from the Christoph Merian Foundation.

The building hosts the untraditional exhibition space of HeK that aims at promoting artistic discourse and mutual exchange especially regarding media art and media culture on the ground and lower ground level as well as an art residency programme on the first floor.

In addition to a flexible exhibition space of 550 m2, it has a multifunctional space of 200m2 for concerts where an electronic music festival is held, conferences or performances, seminar /workshop space, and a café in a spacious foyer adjacent to the large covered terrace.

Interior design was developed in cooperation with the architectural office Lupo Zuccharelli.

Apart from being a physical exhibition and event space, the HeK also aims at disseminating facts regarding the era of information and promoting new forms of art in the information age that encourage visitors to ponder over the social effects through exhibits, workshops and guided tours.

The building itself contains for distinct pieces of ‘art in architecture’ - including Remotewords by Achim Mohné and Uta Kopp 2014 that circulates a message on roof that can only be seen from above but can be spread worldwide through Google Earth once the satellite images are updated.

Another installation on architecture is H3333333333K by !Mediengruppe Bitnik (Carmen Weisskopf, Domagoj Smoljo), 2015 whereby a glitch – or visual software failure – to become an architectural construction on the façade.

Year 2014

Work finished in 2014

Status Completed works

Type Multi-purpose Cultural Centres / Museums / Building Recovery and Renewal