Anthos 2025 with a contribution by Jonas Frei on the Novartis Campus

The BSLA yearbook anthos 2025 examines the theme of transformation. It includes a contribution by our former colleague Jonas Frei titled "Transformation Close to Nature", in which he discusses several projects, among them the Novartis Campus Park in Basel.

Jonas Frei describes the project as an aesthetic decision in favour of closeness to nature. However, the ecological value was neither mentioned nor emphasised in the project presentation. This does not diminish its value for the environment, quite the opposite. Precisely because design that supports biodiversity remained a minor consideration in both marketing and competitions for many years, ecologically high quality parks and open space designs in urban areas have long been the exception. At Novartis Campus Park, a carefully crafted illusion of natural landscape was created. Gravel terraces and planting schemes take their cues from the geology and vegetation of the region. In this way, design, history and ecology are brought into dialogue.

The book is available at Hochparterre Verlag.