Campus and Infrastructure

Basel Academy of Art and Design

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With around 1,000 students and staff, the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel) is a multifaceted learning, teaching and research community. It is located in historic buildings that were formerly a customs warehouse, as well as in a new high-rise building on Basel's Dreispitz site.

Welcome!Join the Campus @ HGK Basel!

The studio building, high-rise building, Campus.workshops, FoodCultureLab and “der TANK” exhibition space are all within walking distance of each other around Freilager-Platz. This square forms the centre of a neighbourhood with players from art and culture, design and the creative industries. The high-rise building and studio building house the institutes with their degree programmes, the media library, the exhibition and discourse space CIVIC, the general infrastructure, and a cafeteria and bistro.

Immediate neighbours of the HGK Basel include the exhibition space and library of the Basel School of Design (SfG), the HEK House of Electronic Arts, the archive building of the Herzog & de Meuron architectural firm, the Kunsthaus Baselland, the studios of the international scholarship programme for artists Atelier Mondial, and RadioX.

CIVIC

CIVIC is a social infrastructure, a discourse and exhibition space, and a place of education and experimentation for students, lecturers, staff and the public. CIVIC promotes the societal relevance of art and design. With the claim CIVIC IS WHAT WE MAKE OF IT, people organize self-initiated events such as exhibitions, workshops, happenings and discussion rounds that aim to be in contact with one another.

Campus.Workshops

The FHNW Academy of Art and Design offers its students, teachers, and staff members excellently equipped workshops for working metal, wood, plastics, and ceramics. In addition, we have the appropriate facilities for rapid prototyping, book binding, screen printing as well as a paint shop and a sculptor’s studio along with a sewing studio.

'der TANK'

In the exhibition space ‹der TANK›, exhibitions and projects by artists and students are presented. ‹der TANK› also shows a series of commissioned art projects by international artists associated with the Institute Art Gender Nature (IAGN), as well as by former students and lecturers.

FoodCultureLab

The FoodCultureLab, is a kitchen and a collaborative lab for food practices at the Institute Arts and Design Education (IADE) at the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel). We welcome a manifold of formats and iterations that explore food as a medium, as material and as an interconnected living system.

Café Freilager and Bistro of the Arts

Since August 2025 Ryago operates the two gastronomic locations at HGK Basel: Café Freilager (high-rise building) and Bistro der Künste (studio building).

HGK Basel SPORT

The sport offer at the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel) is open to students and staff, members of FHNW and the neighborhood.

Media Library Basel

Closed until 26.07.2026

Studi-Lounge

The Studi-Lounge (student lounge) at the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel) is a place run by and for students. It is organised by the student council and the students themselves. Away from studios and public areas, it offers space for exchange, relaxation and networking. It features a bar, as well as events and the possibility for parties. The student lounge is a meeting place and an important part of student life at the university.

Accessibility & Facilities

The buildings of the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK Basel) are accessible by wheelchair, stroller, and for people with walking difficulties. The entrance to the highrise building (Building D) is at ground level, the studio building (Building A) can be reached via a ramp. There is at least one lift in both buildings.