Experiencing culture and the arts, being creative, using spaces for physical activity and play, eating and drinking, reading and reflecting, meeting others and exchanging ideas – all of this will find a place in the new building and park on the future Schöpflin Campus in Lörrach. For the ceremonial groundbreaking on 9 December 2025, held in the »tri-border area« of Germany, Switzerland and France, numerous local residents joined foundation staff as well as Lörrach’s Mayor Monika Neuhöfer-Avdic and District Head Silke Herzog, Ulrike Dix, partner at the Berlin-based architectural firm AFF Architects responsible for the design, and Johann Senner, Head of Planstatt Senner from Überlingen, which is in charge of the future park.
A »house for everyone« is planned on the current FABRIC site. »We want to create a place that appeals to everyone between the ages of one and ninety-nine: people from the neighbourhood and the entire city, those interested in culture, engaged citizens, and many more«, said founder Hans Schöpflin. »We hope that people will embrace this new place as an extension of their living room«, added CEO Tim Göbel, describing the various intended uses for the site.
The new building on Franz-Ehret-Street will comprise seven storeys plus a basement level. It will be constructed largely as a timber structure. Because the site lies in an earthquake zone, stabilising cores and frameworks will be built using solid construction methods. The ground floor and first floor will form a transparent base that opens onto the park landscape. While the upper floors will house guest apartments, offices of the Schöpflin Foundation and its institutions, the Brombach primary care medical centre and one or two additional medical practices, the lower levels are intended for public use. At the heart of the building is a flexible, double-height event space on the ground floor, offering seating for around 200 guests. In addition, there will be a research lab for school students, workshop rooms, a project space for local initiatives and associations, and a café with an all-day food offering.
The new, expansive park will provide ample space for physical activity and social interaction. Integrated into the near-natural planting and open pathway layout will be various sports and play facilities as well as a water feature. This so-called »wetland« will serve as a central body of water, providing cooling in summer and capturing every drop of rain that falls on the site.
The current construction project was preceded by a participatory and creative planning process. Local residents and citizens from Lörrach, foundation staff and guests were invited to contribute their ideas and wishes for the building and grounds. More than 1,600 suggestions were collected and incorporated into the planning. Many of them shared a common desire for spaces for meeting and community engagement, for play and physical activity, and for high-quality outdoor areas.
The ceremonial groundbreaking now marks the official start of the project, shortly before excavation work begins in January to create the building pit. Structural works are expected to commence in spring. Project management and on-site construction supervision will be carried out by the firm Ernst². Work on the park will begin in the second half of 2026. Completion of both the building and the park is scheduled for the end of 2027.