Switzerland’s tallest building gets green light

Basel-based pharma giant Roche has received approval from the local parliament to construct a 205-metre office block called Building 2. When it is completed in 2021 it will surpass Roche’s own 178-metre Building 1, which is currently Switzerland’s tallest building.  The project was accepted by Basel City’s cantonal parliament on Wednesday, winning 84 votes. Two people voted against and there were five abstentions.  Building 2 was designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron and will house offices for around 1,700 employees. The 50-storey building will cost CHF550 million (CHF572.3 million) to build and is expected to be ready by 2021.  It is part of a CHF3 billion investment in infrastructure at Roche’s Basel headquarters over the next decade. A 132-metre research centre is also in the pipeline.  Roche’s Building 1 was inaugurated in September 2015 and claimed the title of Switzerland’s tallest building from the Prime Tower in Zurich, which had held the ...