April 2025

01.04. - 14.09.2025

tours and workshops for SCHOOLS, KINDERGARTENS AND day centres

 

TOURS AND WORKSHOPS THROUGH THE CURRENT EXHIBITION ‹WHAT COULD BE: EXPERIMENTS BETWEEN HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND ARCHITECTURE›
The focus is on the question of what role monument preservation plays today - and how it can contribute to the sustainable future of building.

HANDS-ON STATION: ‹HERITAGE CONSERVATION OF THE FUTURE?›
Pupils can record their own thoughts as voice messages at an interactive station using a QR code. The contributions become part of a growing public dialog - audible directly on site.


 

 

 

 

01.04. - 14.09.2025

DISCOVERY TOURS for schools, kindergartens and day centres

TOUR 1: ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE
TOUR 2: BASEL IN THE CHANGE OF TIME - a tour of discovery by drawing
TOUR 3: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING - BUT HOW?
 

01.04. - 14.09.2025

KULTUR UNTER EINEM DACH für SCHULEN - Tandem-Rundgänge für Schulklassen im S AM & Kunsthalle Basel

Die Kunsthalle Basel und das S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum verbindet nicht nur ein gemeinsames Dach, sondern auch die Begeisterung für Kunst, Kultur und Gesellschaft. Darunter vereinen sie zeitgenössische Künstlerpositionen mit aktuellen Themen rund um Architektur und Städtebau. Diese Synergien werden in einem gemeinsamen Rundgang erlebbar gemacht, Schnittstellen gezogen, sowie Unterschiede und Bedeutungen für die Gesellschaft erörtert.

May 2025

08.05. - 08.05.2025

2/10 DENK MAL BAR: NEGRONI SBAGLIATO with KLAUS SPECHTENHAUSER (Cantonal Preservation Office Basel-Stadt)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

15.05. - 15.05.2025

3/10 Denk Mal Bar: Eurofizzion Gin with Sonja Flury (ProSaffa1985-Pavillon)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

15.05. - 15.05.2025

2/6 Guided Tour through the exhibition 'What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture'

2–3 PM, English

Bewahren ist fortschrittlich: In der aktuellen Debatte um die Bauwende spielen Erhalt und Pflege des Gebäudebestandes eine zentrale Rolle. Vor diesem Hintergrund bekommen die Theorie und Praxis der Denkmalpflege eine neue Dringlichkeit. 

Eintritt: CHF 12.–, red. CHF 8.–

22.05. - 22.05.2025

Round Table Conversation: ‹What If Maintenance Comes First? Emerging Forms of Preservation›

6-7.30 Uhr, English 


A Round Table Discussion in collaboration with 
Oslo Architecture Triennale 
Supported by Königlich Norwegischen Botschaft in Bern 

As part of Open House Basel


The S AM Swiss Architecture Museum and the Oslo Architecture Triennale invite to a round table conversation set around the theme of maintenance and its significance for circular and nature-centered approaches in architecture. The session is organised in collaboration with the Chair of Construction Heritage and Preservation and the Chair of Circular Engineering for Architecture (CEA) at ETH Zurich.

Picture: Drone survey of the façade of the Briefzentrum Mülligen, Zürich, and fabrication of a replacement panel prototype © Matthias Brenner, 2024.

24.05. - 25.05.2025

DROP-IN WORKSHOP: EXPERIMENTIEREN MIT LICHT UND GESCHICHTE!

In the cyanotype drop-in workshop, you can create your own pictures using a historical printing technique - inspired by the preservation of historical monuments and the question of how we preserve and reinterpret what already exists. Come along, become part of the creative process and discover the connection between past, present and future in the exhibition What Was Could Be!

June 2025

05.06. - 05.06.2025

4/10 Denk Mal Bar: Klär-Wässerchen with Noël + Lukas (Malheur&Fortuna)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

11.06. - 11.06.2025

Mittwochs-Matinée in der Ausstellung ‹Was war werden könnte – Experimente zwischen Denkmalpflege und Architektur›

10–12 Uhr

​Rundgang durch die Ausstellung ‹Was war werden könnte – Experimente zwischen Denkmalpflege und Architektur›. Im Anschluss haben Sie die Möglichkeit in einem informellen Rahmen ins Gespräch zu kommen. 

12.06. - 12.06.2025

The (theoretical) Discourse: A Future for Whose Past?

7–8.30 PM

An event organized by the Chair of Construction Heritage and Preservation (Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg) of the ETH Zürich as part of the exhibition ‘What Was Could Be: Experiments between Preservation and Architecture’.

Venue: S AM, Steinenberg 7, Basel

19.06. - 19.06.2025

5/10 Denk Mal Bar: Blue Citizen with Blanka + Jens + Tamino (ZAS* Zürcher Arbeitsgruppe Städtebau)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

26.06. - 26.06.2025

3/6 Guided Tour through the exhibition 'What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture'

6–7 PM, German

Preservation is progressive: In current efforts to shift towards more sustainable building practices (known in German as the Bauwende, or ‘building turnaround’), preservation and maintenance of the existing building stock play a central role. In this context, the theory and practice of historic preservation also gain a new urgency. 

Admission: CHF 12.–, red. CHF 8.–

July 2025

03.07. - 03.07.2025

6/10 Denk Mal Bar: Dry Martini with Reto Nussbaumer (Cantonal Conservator Aargau)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

10.07. - 17.07.2025

7 /10 Denk Mal Bar: Something Sparkling with Team Professur Langenberg (Construction Heritage and Monument Preservation ETH Zurich)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

10.07. - 10.07.2025

4/6 Guided Tour through the exhibition 'What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture'

8–9 PM, German, with after work drinks

Preservation is progressive: In current efforts to shift towards more sustainable building practices (known in German as the Bauwende, or ‘building turnaround’), preservation and maintenance of the existing building stock play a central role. In this context, the theory and practice of historic preservation also gain a new urgency. 

Admission: CHF 12.–, red. CHF 8.–

August 2025

21.08. - 21.08.2025

8/10 Denk Mal Bar: Whiskey/Sake Highball with Sandra + Yuma (S AM Swiss Architecture Museum)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

21.08. - 21.08.2025

5/6 Guided Tour through the exhibition 'What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture'

8–9 PM, English, with after work drinks

Preservation is progressive: In current efforts to shift towards more sustainable building practices (known in German as the Bauwende, or ‘building turnaround’), preservation and maintenance of the existing building stock play a central role. In this context, the theory and practice of historic preservation also gain a new urgency. 

Admission: CHF 12.–, red. CHF 8.–

28.08. - 28.08.2025

9/10 Denk Mal Bar: Tingeltangel with Christian + Sebastian (Association Examples of Socialist Architecture)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.

September 2025

04.09. - 04.09.2025

6/6 Guided Tour through the exhibition 'What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture'

6–7 PM, German

Preservation is progressive: In current efforts to shift towards more sustainable building practices (known in German as the Bauwende, or ‘building turnaround’), preservation and maintenance of the existing building stock play a central role. In this context, the theory and practice of historic preservation also gain a new urgency. 

Admission: CHF 12.–, red. CHF 8.–

04.09. - 04.09.2025

The Next Generation: Learning and Shaping Future Heritage

7–8.30 PM

An event organized by the Chair of Construction Heritage and Preservation (Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg) of the ETH Zürich as part of the exhibition ‘What Was Could Be: Experiments between Preservation and Architecture’.

Venue: S AM, Steinenberg 7, Basel

11.09. - 11.09.2025

10/10 Denk Mal Bar: Hypokras with Martina + Jonas (M.A. Preservation and Monument Management)

5:00 - 8:30 pm

The 'denk mal bar' invites you to discuss the heritage conservation of tomorrow over a cool drink - because heritage conservation is and always has been a matter of negotiation. The bar becomes a discursive sculpture, its base is filled with literature that can be quickly picked up during lively discussions. This use echoes the former Kunsthalle Bar, which operated in the same space for two decades from 1984.