The Hardhof was built in 1904 by a Basel architect, Fritz Stehlin, and it was commissioned by the industrialist Karl Geigy Hagenbach as private villa, in Louis XVI style. In 1989 the Hardhof changed its identity and destination of use. Under the direction of architect Andrée Putman, the Hardhof was turned into a modern exhibition and meeting center for the company Ebel. As she did with the Ebel Boutiques, their head office in New York and the "Villa Turque" of Le Corbusier in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Andrée Putman remained faithful to her style also in the Hardhof. The architect’s choice provided the masion with an elegant character, featuring a geometrical soul that toys with the lighting design and subtly worked with gentle color nuances. The house has ten work rooms, a conference room, a salon, a dining room, one bar and also five guest rooms. It offers all modern comfort and the newest technical features. During the years, the Hardhof has became a reference point for Basel cultural and social life: an animated center of economical, business and arts meetings. A large, publicly accessible gallery for contemporary art was created at the side of the building. Here artists of international importance and emerging talents at the beginning of their career will exhibit their work. On those premises, Mondobiotech now intends to confirm the importance of the Hardhof as a cultural institution for the arts, for economics and science and as a privileged scene where young artist can meet and discuss with Nobel Prize winners, where economy can be faced by ethical issues, where art can inspire scientifical reaserch.