The firm was founded in 1991 in Basel by Luca Selva and initially was engaged in working on small-scale alteration projects. Winning the competition (with Jean-Pierre Wymann) for the new Kaltbrunnen school building in 1993 was a breakthrough. The schoolhouse was completed in 1995–96 and in addition to receiving diverse awards was also published internationally. As of 1999 several residential building projects followed including one in the historic Bäumlihof estate in Basel; and, important competition projects, such as the Animal Park Goldau Extension (1st Prize, but subsequently unable to be realised). A main focus of the firm’s work is critical engagement in urban planning studies and competitions. In addition to various housing projects the firm is currently working on the office building City-Gate in Basel; the execution of one hundred apartments in the Densa AG area of the Kleinhüningen district in Basel; and, a villa for the international project ‘Ordos’ (People's Republic of China). In 1999 the work of the firm was featured in the exhibition series ‘Young Swiss Architects’ in the Architecture Museum Basel (nka S AM Swiss Architecture Museum). Presently the firm is located in the Basel Markthalle and employs ten architects. As of 2009, David Gschwind has been partner and member of the executive board.
