Architectural event Open House Basel reinforces our school’s role as a vibrant hub of education, creativity, and public engagement
ELABasel’s Wildensteinerhof Primary School campus was proudly featured as one of the standout buildings during Open House Basel 2025, a major architectural event celebrating the city ’s rich urban heritage and innovative design.
The weekend-long festival invited the public to explore nearly 100 remarkable sites across Basel, from historic landmarks to cutting-edge contemporary buildings. The Wildensteinerhof campus, a beautifully restored 19th-century building, opened its doors to visitors with free guided tours, showcasing how the school’ s architectural heritage merges seamlessly with a modern educational environment. This unique fusion highlights the school’ s commitment to preserving history while providing a forward- thinking space for learning. One of the most engaging elements of the school’ s participation was the involvement of its Year 4 and Year 5 students as tour guides. These young ambassadors underwent a series of four workshops throughout May to prepare for their role, gaining deep insights into the building ’ s history, its recent renovation, and the architectural principles behind its transformation. They even met the lead architect responsible for the remodel, who shared expert knowledge about the challenges and triumphs of restoring the historic site. On the weekend of the event, these trained students confidently led visitors through the corridors and classrooms of Wildensteinerhof, sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge with impressive professionalism. The positive feedback from attendees reflected not only the architectural significance of the building but also the effectiveness of engaging the school community, particularly its youngest members, in the event. Professional tours were also available on Saturday, ensuring that the public could experience both expert commentary and the fresh perspectives offered by the student guides. In addition to the tours, the school hosted an exhibition of children ’ s artwork inspired by Open House Basel’ s theme. Young artists from across the city participated in the “Zeichne ein Haus ” competition, sketching buildings featured in the event’ s programme. Their drawings were displayed in the school’ s courtyard throughout the weekend, culminating in an award ceremony where winners received architectural drawing sets and had their artwork transformed into poster prints.
WHY OUR FAMILIES CHOOSE ELABASEL
After attending ELABasel, our daughter transitioned to the Holbein Secondary School. The Swiss schools have bigger classes and adhere to a strict teaching method. So, it’s not without its challenges. The ELABasel curriculum prepares children to a more advanced level than local students entering secondary school. ELABasel has also been increasing the amount of German taught, which is to be lauded. We feel that Sophie caught up language-wise in the local school and coasted through the other subjects thanks to the high-calibre teaching she received at ELABasel. We are very grateful for the support of the staff. Her brother, also an ELABasel graduate, is now attending Holbein. – DAVID KIRK