The Partnership: Bringing Disciplines, Institutions and Practice Together
COBASI is built on the conviction that the transformation of Baukultur an services of general interest cannot be addressed from a single disciplinary or institutional perspective. The project therefore brings together a consortium that combines complementary expertise in architecture, spatial planning, governance, regional development and implementation. Research and practice are deliberately intertwined.
The Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST) leads the project. With a strong background in spatial development and services of general interest, OST contributes an applied planning perspective with a clear focus on implementation and transfer to municipalities. The university’s close links to planning practice and public authorities ensure that COBASI remains grounded in real-world challenges from the outset.
Project Team
- Dirk Engelke (OST)
- Mirjam Iselin (OST)
- Fabian Schweizer (OST)
The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) adds a strong research perspective on governance, policy integration and spatial analysis. WSL’s expertise lies in understanding how different policy domains, actors and institutional frameworks interact across scales. Within COBASI, this perspective is essential for analysing the conditions that enable or hinder the integration of Baukultur and services of general interest in rural Switzerland.
Project Team
- Marco Pütz (WSL)
- Stephanie Schwab Cammarano (WSL)
The Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-SO) contributes architectural and Baukultur expertise. Its focus is on the built environment, architecture, spatial qualities and the cultural dimension of transformation processes. HES-SO plays a key role in analysing good-practice examples, developing typologies and translating architectural and spatial quality into criteria that can be discussed and applied beyond individual projects.
Project Team
- Julie Riondel (HES-SO)
- Séréna Vanbutsele (HES-SO)
As an implementation partner, the Swiss Center for Mountain Regions (SAB) anchors COBASI firmly in practice. SAB represents rural and mountain municipalities and brings deep knowledge of regional development, political processes and on-the-ground realities. Its role is crucial for connecting the project to municipalities, supporting co-creation processes and ensuring that results feed into policy recommendations and establishing a networks of practitioners.
Project Team
- Thomas Egger (SAB)
- Peter Niederer (SAB)
Together, the consortium reflects the core ambition of COBASI: to connect Baukultur and services of general interest through interdisciplinary collaboration and close engagement with practice. By combining different research institutions with an implementation-oriented practice partner, COBASI creates the conditions for generating knowledge that is not only analytically robust, but also relevant, transferable and actionable for rural municipalities.