The global success story of the Basel architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron has local roots. This book traces these origins while identifying the essential ideas, professional ethics, and development of their architectural practice, established in 1978. The biographies of both architects and the activities of their practice are intimately bound up with the town of Basel. With this embeddedness in Basel as a point of departure, the authors elucidate central themes of their architectural oeuvre: from habitat to monument. With reference to exemplary buildings, they analyze the motifs, constructive principles, and spatial design of the architectonic works of Herzog & de Meuron. In addition, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron lead us on tours through Basel and its surroundings: statements by the architects, along with photographs taken especially for this volume by George Dupin, present the locales and buildings that have played key roles for the work of these architects. The book is rounded out by an intensive exchange of ideas between the architects and Jean-François Chevrier.