The DNA: Volkshaus translates from German to “the people’s house” and while this new Herzog & de Meuron-designed hotel in Basel features all the luxuries that modern lodgings require, it also retains the unpretentious values of the building it occupies. This renovation of a historic 1925 event space and concert hall now boasts 45 rooms on top of the bar and restaurant space opened in 2012. “You can never go back to the original aim [of the building],” says Ascan Mergenthaler, senior partner at the celebrated Swiss architecture firm, which led the conversion. “But you can capture that spirit – and that is what we attempted to do here.” These efforts are most visible in the suites and bedrooms where the wallpaper takes cues from both the original green colour scheme and the leafy courtyard below. Charming original features, such as timber-framed windows, have been polished (and insulated) and newer additions include handsome, functional purpose-designed furniture for the rooms, largely in timber and all made in Switzerland. “With the furniture, we didn’t want to go back to the 1920s or follow sleek modern design trends,” says Mergenthaler. “So we designed our own, which is unexpected and timeless.”

Seen: dezeen, Sleeper Magazine, Wallpaper*, WeHeart

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 45 rooms & suites (20-70m2) (215-753 sq ft) • hotel opened: November 2020 • architecture & interior design: Herzog & de Meuron • parking possible nearby (charged) • pets allowed • wheelchair accessible