Versatile use

In 1912, the Basler Lagerhausgesellschaft opened the Silo operation. Today, it houses the Silo Design & Boutique Hostel, a restaurant with a bar, lounge and terrace, and ateliers used by self-employed professionals and small businesses.

Old, but new

The Erlenmatt Ost neighborhood is a small cosmos in and of itself. More than 500 people from all over the world live here. The development is based on a precise sustainability concept: land use, energy and mobility are planned in the spirit of the 2000-watt society.

Fair & open

The Silo project involves the careful development of both the building and its neighborhood. The Silo is open to everyone. In fact, openness is the whole idea behind Silo. The kitchen and reception are on the open-plan first floor, with no walls. The architecture of the Silo – of the entire neighborhood development – is based on environmental and social sustainability.

More than a hostel

The Silo also includes atelier spaces. Various small businesses and creative companies work here on their ideas and products. The people behind them stay under one roof with the hotel guests and the neighborhood. They eat and drink here, too.

Sweet & bitter

The Silo’s original purpose back in 1912 was “the storage of cocoa beans.” The Basler Lagerhausgesellschaft advertised the Silo as a “modern solid structure" for “smoothing out and bagging incoming wheat, barley, oats and potato flakes.”

With a plan for the careful reconstruction of the building and a respect for its basic core, in 2018 the Habitat Foundation and the architectural firm Harry Gugger began transforming the Silo into a center for socializing. It opened in 2020.