“NATURE, AND AS PART OF IT MAN, IS OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET. THE FIRST ATTENTION IN OUR CREATION IS ITS WELL-BEING”
Tiziana Ugoletti Serra studied architecture at the ETHZ. Under Prof. Hans Kollhoff she graduated in 1996 as Dipl. Arch. ETH. From 1996 to 1999 she worked in the office of Prof. Hans Kollhoff in Berlin. In the process, she won the competition for the Ministry of Defense in Rome and worked as a project manager at the German Foreign Office in Berlin. From 1999 to 2002 she worked for Diener & Diener Architekten in Basel. In the process, she won the competition for the National Gallery in Rome and worked on various project leads. Between 2005 and 2012, she earned a doctorate from ETHZ with a thesis on Swiss heritage protection and urban planning. Since 2013 she is owner and since 2023 co-owner of Serra Architekten GmbH in Basel.
“My work as an architect focuses on residential construction and building in existing structures. My experiences with Prof. Hans Kollhoff in Berlin and with Prof. Roger Diener in Basel were valuable in many ways. On the one hand, as a project manager, I was allowed to lead the entire planning and execution of high-quality projects. On the other hand, the two experiences gave me the reference to an internationally high-level architecture. Together with my doctorate on Swiss Heimatstil and urban planning, my profile as an architect working in existing urban contexts was formed. This experience found its expression in the projects of my self-employment as Serra Architekten GmbH since 2013.”
Tiziana Ugoletti Serra – Serra Architekten GmbH
Marco Serra studied architecture at the ETHZ. Under Prof. Hans Kollhoff he graduated in 1996 as Dipl. Arch. ETH. From 1996 to 1999 he worked in the office of Prof. Adrian Meyer in Baden and from 1999 to 2002 he worked for Diener & Diener Architekten in Basel. From 2003, he was entrusted by Novartis with the Basel Campus Masterplan. From 2002 to 2005, he was the design architect responsible for the reception building and parking facility on the Novartis Campus. From 2006 to 2016, he was responsible for the transformation of the Abadia Retuerta monastery complex into a luxury hotel. As of 2014, he was globally responsible for the architecture of Novartis as chief architect. He has been co-owner of Serra Architekten GmbH in Basel since 2023.
“In my work as an architect, I was allowed to practice the profession in all its facets. Experience in various architectural firms gave me the understanding of project management of execution projects. The experience at Novartis allowed me to act in my dual role as both customer and architect. The core of my work was strategic management and design with supervision of the execution of demanding projects. Working on the Novartis Campus Masterplan gave me the understanding of urban development of neighborhoods. Working on the issue of using multiple projects gave me an understanding of the importance of a well-developed specification. And the role as chief architect gave me global insight into different work environments.”
Marco Serra – Serra Architekten GmbH
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We don’t see ourselves as architects working on a specific set of issues. We are interested in curiosity towards new topics, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration. We see part of our activity both in dealing with the project conditions and in finding the best solution for them. We treat simple projects and large undertakings with the same respect. That is why our repertoire ranges from small design objects to representative conversions and interventions in the landscape. All projects are based on the claim to achieve the best result for our customers.
We see urban planning as a discipline that has to do with the basic needs of human beings. Cities should allow the highest concentration of humanity, knowledge and exchange. We are convinced that continuing to build in urban contexts is the only sensible form for the future and at the same time allows the best protection of our environment. Without a humble attitude towards nature, even the best architecture will not provide a way out of the rabid destruction of our environment. Whenever we continue to build cities, we continue to build on the preservation of our future.
We do not see building preservation as a discipline isolated from our activities, but as an integral part of them. It has to do with sustainability, value and beauty. Our research at the Chair of History and Theory of Architecture at ETHZ has laid the foundation for an understanding of the conditions that lead to humane and sustainable architecture. The restoration of the thousand-year-old Abadia Retuerta Monastery illustrates the beauty of continuing to build on a work and create continuity. And all private urban restoration and renovation projects illustrate our ability to apply knowledge to residential projects.
The digital ®evolution has changed the way we work. We are increasingly confronted with asynchronous work. Images replace realities, monitors replace faces, and technologies replace senses. Whatever form of work one chooses, they are all based on the absence of holistic personality images. The consequences of the alienation are not yet foreseeable. We believe that technology is and will continue to be essential, but we see it as a tool, not a solution. The center of our work activity should remain human contact. Our experience on a global level with different work environments and work cultures enables us to provide broad support for projects within work environments. These include various forms of collaboration, dealing with the pandemic, the issue of cultural diversity, and that of well-being in work environments.
Selection procedures require a precise understanding of the task as well as the customer. Furthermore, different selection procedures require different calibrations of the specifications. Our experience with different selection procedures, be it direct orders or competitions, as well as our involvement in juries and the subsequent project phases allows us to provide comprehensive support to the client. This ranges from the development of utilization concepts, through the actual selection process, to the supervision of the various project phases. Beyond the quantifiable realm, the choice of a planner is always a choice of personality that must be carefully prepared and made.
“The jury greatly admired this complex restoration as a model for the re-use of important buildings, whose original purpose has gone, but can be sensitively adapted to new sustainable functions. They appreciated the historical and technical research done in different fields such as architectonical style, the ancient Roman hypocaust “tempering”, non-invasive sustainable energy technology, art restoration and historic landscape. The three guiding principles of the Premonstratensian community – work, tranquility, hospitality – have been successfully carried into the present, as well as ideas about the meaning of historical layers and the spirit of the place”.
https://www.europeanheritageawards.eu/winners/abadia-retuerta-ledomaine/
“The construction of the Novartis Campus entrance resulted in a new reception entrance with an underground car park that breathes lightness and transparency while maintaining the company’s corporate status. Never before has a utilitarian sub-grade parking space been so endowed with such beautiful lighting” commented a jury member. “The parking experience is clearly a welcoming, safe and pleasant experience.”
https://www.lichtkunstlicht.com/de/projects/novartis-campus-serra-empfangsgebaeude-und-parking/
“This award acknowledged a successful collaboration founded on practical research that took place between the architect, the civil engineer and innovative manufacturers. It praised the thermal insulation and the sound insulation, the airtight and water tightness, as well as the complex roof construction’s structural and physical innovation”.
Abadia Retuerta, “Legacy and Revival,” NVS, 2017.
“The Architects of the Novartis Campus,” Hatje Cantz, 2009
“Novartis Campus Fabrikstrasse 2”, Christoph Merian Verlag, 2007
“Healthy Balance, Marco Serra, Global Chief Architect,” Monocle, Issue 137, 2020.
“Novartis”, Featuring Marco Serra & Vas Narasimhan, Casa Brutus, Issue Casa Extra, 2019.
“Inside Campus,” Casa Brutus, Issue 5, 2018
“Marco Serra, Novartis Chief Architect and Guardian of the Campus Master Plan,” Best of Basel, No. 9 Issue Fall/Winter, 2014.“Abadia Retuerta LeDomaine, The Lord Pours,” Architectural Digest, November, 2012.
“Novartis Campus Master Plan,” a+u, No. 484, 2011.
“Observations on architecture and the contemporary city, Learning from Laboratories,” YALE University: Ariane Lourie Harrison, LOG No. 21, 2011.
“Marco Serra, Architecture, Main Gate & Parking, Fabrikstrasse 2,” a+u, No. 482, 2010.
“Novartis Campus, St. Johann Basilea, Suiza,” Arquitectura Viva, Issue 134, 2010.
“Novartis Campus, Planes de future”, Arquitectura Viva, Issue 113, 2007.
“Städteplanung – Planungsstädte”, Chronos, Bruno Fritzsche, Hans-Jörg Gilomen, Martina Stercken, on “Investition Stadt, Der Novartis Campus in Basel”, 2004.
“The Value of Beauty in Architecture,” Smart Working Conference, Amsterdam, Berlin 2022.
“The value of beauty in architecture”, Wüest & Partner, Zurich 2022
“Arts Today,” Criss Cross roundtable discussion, Kunstmuseum Basel, September 5, 2018.
“Novartis Campus Enclave and Agorà“, City Campus: between Enclave and Agora, University of Hamburg: Hafencity, 2016.
TEDx Basel(Youtube), 2016
“Science in an urban context”, Issue 8 Heidelberg Building Forum, 2013.
“The Novartis Campus,” Basel: American Institute of Architects, Swiss Division, 2004.
