Barbara Buser – Pionierin der Nachhaltigkeit

The award-winning Basel architect Barbara Buser rescues buildings from demolition and transforms them using reclaimed materials. She converts former industrial sites into urban living spaces that stand for careful stewardship of the environment and stronger community ties. As a woman successfully carving her own path in a male-dominated field, Barbara Buser serves as a role model for a younger generation fighting for a more sustainable and equitable world.

After completing her studies, Buser works in Sudan and later in Tanzania, where she learns to build with reused materials. Back in Basel, she becomes the first female ferry operator on the Rhine. Her childhood home is the first building she saves from demolition. A former machine factory in Basel is transformed under her guidance into a community hub, with the Gundeldinger Feld widely regarded as her masterpiece.

Together with Eric Honegger, she founded the construction office baubüro insitu shortly before the turn of the millennium, followed by several other companies, all operating according to one principle: circular economy instead of waste, and a “caring economy” instead of profit-driven thinking. Major awards, including the Prix Meret Oppenheim and several prizes for the visionary building K118 on the Lagerplatz in Winterthur, confirm her success and the achievements of her collaborators.