Magazine

With the exhibition Soft Power - Making Cities the Brussels Way, on view at Basel's Swiss Architecture Museum (S AM) until March 16, 2025, S AM declares Belgium's architectural culture to be a role model. But what does Brussels have over Switzerland? Elias Baumgarten

Best known for the Graz Kunsthaus, which he designed with Sir Peter Cook, Colin Fournier was also a professor of architecture, was involved in the design of the Parc de la Villette, was a member of the avant-garde group Archigram, and planned entire cities. He died in Paris on September 4,... Elias Baumgarten

As editor-in-chief, Katinka Corts shaped German-Architects with her convictions for a long time. Now she is embarking on a new chapter in her life. It is time to thank her for her perseverance and commitment, but also her keen sense of language. Elias Baumgarten

As in other fields, artificial intelligence is also playing an increasingly important role in architecture. How it will change the discipline depends on the people who use it. This became clear at the “AI – Architectural Intelligence” conference held at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied... Elias Baumgarten

Swiss architects Manuel Herz and Heinrich Degelo are together realizing a settlement in western Cameroon, a complex that was designed with local people and is being built exclusively by locals. Elias Baumgarten

Marianne Burkhalter and Christian Sumi are deserved laureates of the 2024 Prix Meret Oppenheim in the Architecture category. From the mid-1980s, the duo designed pioneering wooden buildings in an unmistakable language of form and color. Elias Baumgarten

What significance does the work of the late Austrian architect Hans Hollein have for a younger generation of architects? The Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W) is juxtaposing Hollein's projects with the designs of fifteen European firms in Hollein Calling: Architectural Dialogues, a major... Elias Baumgarten

In the 1960s, a number of Indonesian architects graduated in Germany and set out on their careers — many in their home country, but some also in Europe. An exciting new book sheds light on the buildings they designed and the lives they lived. Elias Baumgarten

With their lookout tower in the Hardwald recreation area near Zurich, Nadja and Lukas Frei of Luna Productions have won our readers' choice for the Swiss-Architects... Elias Baumgarten

A critical exploration of architecture is needed today more than ever, but architectural criticism is in a crisis. A new book, edited by Wilfried Wang, could bring momentum back to the discipline. Elias Baumgarten

The Berlin-based architects are concerned with the establishment of a circular economy in the building industry. In this interview they talk about working with used building components and the development of the German capital between awakening and stagnation.  Elias Baumgarten

The west facade of the former GSW Headquarters high-rise in Berlin, designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, is set to be renewed and redesigned. This is architecturally, ecologically, but also economically questionable and sends the wrong signal. Elias Baumgarten

In one moment, everything in Anhelina Starkova's life changed. Putin's war devastated her hometown of Kharkiv and thwarted her plans for the future. But she has not lost her courage. Elias Baumgarten

Is idealism economically sensible? Yes, says Katharina Lehmann. In an interview with Swiss-Architects editor Elias Baumgarten she talks about values, what it means to be a female boss, and why coercive measures are not enough to stop climate change. Elias Baumgarten

Architectural photographer Iwan Baan and his friend, architect Francis Kéré, traveled around Burkina Faso. The result of their trip is an inspiring illustrated book on the role of sunlight in African architecture. Elias Baumgarten

Our URL is staying the same, but as of October 1st the office of World-Architects and its various national platforms will be located at Headsquarter, a co-working space at Talacker 41 in Zurich's first district. John Hill, Elias Baumgarten

What do architects think about important future issues such as climate change or digitalization? How do they envision a sustainable building culture? What solutions do they have? What framework conditions do they need in order to fulfill their tasks and responsibilities in the best possible... Elias Baumgarten

What do architects think about important future issues such as climate change or digitalization? How do they envision a sustainable building culture? What solutions do they have? What framework conditions do they need in order to fulfill their tasks and responsibilities in the best possible... Elias Baumgarten

What do architects think about important future issues such as climate change or digitalization? How do they envision a sustainable building culture? What solutions do they have? What framework conditions do they need in order to fulfill their tasks and responsibilities in the best possible... Elias Baumgarten

What do architects think about important future issues such as climate change or digitalization? How do they envision a sustainable building culture? What solutions do they have? What framework conditions do they need in order to fulfill their tasks and responsibilities in the best possible... Elias Baumgarten

March saw the fifth anniversary of Zaha Hadid’s death, something the architecture scene took surprisingly little notice of. An exhibition at Galerie Gmurzynska in Zurich, intended as an homage, focuses on the Pritzker Prize winner’s enthusiasm for the Russian avant-garde. Elias Baumgarten

Swiss-Architects Editor in Chief Elias Baumgarten recently interviewed architect Saikal Zhunushova, who placed third in the 2021 Foundation Award, which annually recognizes the innovate work of Swiss architecture offices less than five years old. Born in Kyrgyzstan and now based in Winterthur,... Elias Baumgarten

Patrick Lüth, the managing director of Snøhetta’s Innsbruck studio, talked to Austrian-Architects about social and ecological sustainability and the digitalization of architecture. Elias Baumgarten

Between April and December, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Swiss-Architects editor Elias Baumgarten interviewed a slew of German, Austrian, and Swiss architects: virtual conversations that were transcribed into the five-part D-A-CH Talks series. The fifth conversation is translated... Elias Baumgarten

Architecture must change in order to address the climate crisis. But what directions do architects want to take? Snøhetta is making an interesting contribution to the debate: In southern Norway, the firm has designed an office building that produces more energy than it consumes over its life... Elias Baumgarten

While his generation failed in its attempt to change society through architecture, Wolf D. Prix says today’s young talent does not even try to do so, preferring to take refuge in a romanticized past. What is urgently needed are fresh concepts for the next twenty years. Elias Baumgarten

Concrete's high carbon footprint has led to many calls for alternative materials. It might also be possible to keep using concrete, but do more with less. Researchers at ETH Zürich are exploring a significant reduction of the material through optimized shapes, as illustrated by a new... John Hill, Elias Baumgarten

Binke Lenhardt and Hao Dong head the Beijing-based firm Crossboundaries. They design conversions and modular buildings in China, but they also teach courses for children and... Elias Baumgarten

Brothers Laurids and Manfred Ortner are recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize, the highest award for artists from Austria. They are the first architects to receive the prize since 2015. John Hill, Elias Baumgarten

The competition deciding the architect of the extension of Santiago Calatrava's Zurich Stadelhofen from 1990 has wrapped up, and Giuliani Hönger Architekten with Caretta Weidmann have won over Calatrava and... John Hill, Elias Baumgarten

OMA – Office for Metropolitan Architecture has won a competition to design the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store in Vienna. The jury was unanimous in the selection of the project,... John Hill, Elias Baumgarten

The use of robots for construction is no longer a completely new idea. For more than a decade now, intensive research has been carried out in this area. But so far only a few procedures and products have made it to market. One of them is Elias Baumgarten

Two days, 17 speakers, 5 events: the “Architecture Matters” conference took place in Munich on April 11 and 12, 2019. The highlight was Friday’s dense program of lectures and discussions spread across the afternoon and evening. The conference was organized for the fourth time by the curator... Elias Baumgarten

In 2015, at the height of the refugee crisis, the platform “Architecture for Refugees” was launched. Its initiators are meanwhile thinking bigger and, under the catchy and memorable slogan “Architecture is a Human Right,” they are committed to bringing about fundamental change in the social... Elias Baumgarten