The Kuppel Basel has a long history: first set up in 1986 as a seasonal games and events tent on the Schützenmatte, the old Kuppel moved to the Nachtigallenwäldeli as a temporary venue in 1988. Originally used as a youth centre, it served as a home for the regional pop music scene in all its forms for 22 years from 1994 to 2016. Despite the constant uncertainty regarding the future of the temporary venue, the old dome was one of the top addresses in Basel’s nightlife scene and enjoyed an outstanding reputation among bands and audiences alike.

In 2016, the old Kuppel had to close and the temporary venue had to be dismantled. In the same year, the Kuppel Foundation was established with the aim of promoting non-profit-orientated ‘alternative and youth culture’. The second project competition for the new Kuppel Basel was launched at the beginning of 2019, from which the winning project ‘Volume 2’ by Vécsey*Schmidt Architects emerged. Construction work on the new Basel dome began in 2022 and was completed in summer 2024. After an 8-year interruption to operations, the new Kuppel Basel finally reopened in October 2024.