werk, bauen + wohnen 1/2 – 2025

Daring non-conformism!

is issue marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lucius Burckhardt. To celebrate this anniversary an exhibition on Annemarie and Lucius Burckhardt will open in Basel University Library, in whose archives their papers are kept. To accompany this show in this issue we wish to pay tribute to the couple’s influential work.

The range of themes that they addressed is very wide. Our aim is to appeal both to those with some knowledge of these themes as well as to those reading about them for the first time. is issue is intended to encourage readers to visit one of the numerous events that are being held in this anniversary year and perhaps to browse through one of the collections of texts that Martin Schmitz has published over the last twenty years. One thing is certain: in the light of current challenges such as the energy question, motorway construction, housing shortage, participation in planning, or greenery in the city many of the earlier texts remain highly topical.

We have therefore decided to layout trails that indicate the breadth of the creative work. In this respect the interdisciplinary discussion between Maria Conen (architecture), Thomas Kissling (landscape architecture), and Philippe Koch (political science) plays a central role. It looks at the couple’s non-conformist thinking from several different angles, revealing their alert minds, open views and biting irony (which is also illustrated by several of the caricatures). Daniel Kurz recalls that as editor of this journal from 1962 to 1972 Lucius influenced the debates in a concrete way. Henriette Lutz and Joana Teixeira Pinho write that Annemarie Burckhardt had an important role in producing the texts. Using the debate about Theaterplatz as an example Dorothee Huber shows that through their writings and actions both Burckhardts were actively involved in urban development and politics. And, of course, we also invite readers to take a stroll, specifically in Ljubljana. The accompanying text not only celebrates the perception of the cultural landscape but also pays tribute to the work of Jože Plečnik.

We wish to thank the Lucius and Annemarie Burckhardt Foundation for providing generous financial and conceptual support for this issue. — Roland Züger