Barbara Buser

As a pioneer of circular construction, Barbara Buser looks back on a complex architectural practice with the focus on ecology and the common good. In her lecture, the multi-award-winning Swiss architect shows ways in which linearly planned architecture can find its way back into the cycle.

“In Africa, I learned that one person’s rubbish is another person’s raw material.” In the 1990s, after 10 years in Africa, Barbara Buser returned to Basel, where she initiated the first Swiss building component exchange. She subsequently completed numerous projects, which gave rise to a network of planning offices, including baubüro in situ and Zirkular, which are now revered worldwide. Her work ranges from the reuse of individual building elements to the development of entire neighbourhoods in both urban and rural settings. Barbara Buser is currently a member of the jury for the Althangrund Campus competition in Vienna. Based on the principles of preserve, reuse and build-on, her lecture provides impetus for a socio-ecological shift in the building sector.

Lecture: Barbara Buser, Architektin, Basel

Moderated by Lene Benz, Az W