Project Description
The Early Years
The Atlantis Basel, or simply the ’tis, as it is popularly known, is without doubt one of the largest and most historic music halls of Northwestern Switzerland. The restaurant was founded in 1947 by explorer Paul Seiler and his younger brother Kurt as a café. The Seiler brothers must have been two oddballs, Paul Seiler for example used to cruise the city accompanied by chimpanzee Jeannette in the passenger seat. Animal affection was also displayed with the live alligators which were seen in the `tis during the early years and up to now have a place in the logo.
The hiring of a pianist and the move to the Klosterberg 13 in 1957 enabled the Atlantis to achieve a reputation as a unique jazz restaurant. Amongst others a young musician named Pepe Lienhard presented some of his first concerts of his decades-long international career. Many of Basel’s students have fond memories as the ´tis was one of the first places where you could order the new and coveted Coca-Cola. In the early ’60s, jazz faded, and with it the glory of the Atlantis, which was closed in the summer of 1975.
The Golden Years
In the fall of 1975 the Atlantis was reopened as a rock club. Many legendary live concerts took place during the following golden years. The majority of the cracks in the walls are probably attributable to these days when international greats such as Black Sabbath graced the place. The Blackwood recording studio built in the backyard had live recording capabilities, and the in-house record label further ensured that the name of Atlantis attained wide popularity.
The DJ Years
During the late nineties the audiences for live concert shows grew thinner and thinner, despite many efforts. The new form of entertainment by DJs had definitely started to take over. Thus the Atlantis gradually became the scene of club nights with famous DJs. Meanwhile also the actual restaurant business was given a higher priority. Today, the Atlantis claims to be a restaurant, lounge, bar and club in one and also a guarantee of exceptional business events and the hottest parties in town.
Speakers Corner
To fulfill this promise in the acoustics domain a renewal of the ten year old audio system was needed. Not just the sound of the system should be improved, it should also be made possible to activate the remote areas of the club and the popular gallery upstairs as additional zones. In addition to the club nights further events traditionally held at the Atlantis needed to be covered as well, like concerts, local carnival and business events. Needless to say that the entire system in the restaurant area should be as invisible as feasible.
The Team
Dirk Noy, General Manager of WSDG Europe, the responsible planning bureau, mentions: “In order to properly address all concerns, we initiated a round table conversation in the early planning phase”. These talks included the Atlantis host and client Jürg Wartmann, resident DJ Cedric Eichen