Barbara Buser and Lubaina Himid win the 2026 Jane Drew and Ada Louise Huxtable awards

Barbara Buser (Zúrich, 29 de abril de 1938) is a Swiss architect trained at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich). She began her professional career in the 1960s, during the height of the European economic recovery, and spent ten years working in Africa, an experience that broadened her perspective on architecture in diverse contexts. Her work quickly began to reflect a critical view of the indiscriminate consumption of materials and the environmental impact of the sector, anticipating debates that are central today.

She has developed a pioneering career focused on sustainability, the reuse of materials, and the social responsibility of architecture, demonstrating a material ethic based on reducing resource use and extending the lifespan of buildings.

In 1989, she co-founded Bauteilbörse Basel, a marketplace for reclaimed building components from demolition sites. In 1996, together with Klara Kläusler, she founded the first "component exchange" in Basel, facilitating the reuse of materials and components. This pioneering initiative in Switzerland fostered a culture of reuse that challenges the linear model of produce-use-demolish and promotes a circular logic, where each element retains value beyond its first use—an action now known as "urban mining."

In 1998, together with Eric Honegger, she founded baubüro in situ AG, and in 2022, Wegwarte AG, solidifying her commitment to sustainable architecture. Her dedication to reuse has made her a leading figure in international architecture, inspiring new generations of professionals toward more responsible and virtuous models.

Her commitment to low-impact architecture was exemplified in the office building and cultural center for the Umwelt Arena in Spreitenbach, developed in collaboration with Zirkular GmbH. Conceived as a built manifesto, the project incorporates a high proportion of reused materials—structures, joinery, and installations—demonstrating the compatibility between architectural quality, resource efficiency, and material traceability.

Currently, Barbara Buser is responsible, as the future tenant, for the sustainable development of the Franck Areal, a project that reflects her vision of adaptable, demountable architecture designed for future deconstruction. Recognized with numerous awards in the field of sustainability, she is now a key figure in the European debate on the circular economy and architecture.

Lubaina Himid (Zanzibar, 1954) is a British artist and curator whose career has been deeply intertwined with the critical examination of cultural history and the reclamation of Black identities. Born in the then Sultanate of Zanzibar, she moved to Great Britain with her mother at the age of four, following the death of her father. She trained at Wimbledon College of Art, where she studied Stage Design and graduated in 1976, and later obtained a Master's degree in Cultural History from the Royal College of Art in 1984. She is currently a lecturer in contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire.

Himid was one of the pioneering figures of the British Black Art movement in the 1980s, playing a crucial role in raising the profile of Black artists in the UK. Since then, she has developed an activist artistic practice, which continues to be exhibited in galleries in Great Britain and abroad. In parallel, her work as a curator has been fundamental: she organized exhibitions such as Five Black Women (1983) at the Africa Centre in London, as well as Into the Open (1984), considered the first major exhibition of a new generation of Black British artists.

Her work has received widespread critical acclaim. Regarding Naming the Money (2004), Louisa Buck highlighted how Himid reconstructs the silenced presence of Africans brought to Europe as slaves, representing them as musicians, artisans, and skilled workers, dressed in vibrant reinterpretations of 17th-century costumes. Each figure bears their original name and occupation alongside those imposed by their European owners, also incorporating a sonic dimension that intertwines African, Caribbean, and European music, underscoring the cultural complexity of these forced journeys.

Throughout her career, Himid has served on various councils and committees related to the visual arts in the United Kingdom. In 2010, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to the art of Black women, and in 2017 she won the Turner Prize, becoming the oldest person to win it after the rules were amended to remove the 50-year age limit. This institutional recognition consolidates a career marked by critical engagement and the reinterpretation of historical narratives from previously marginalized perspectives.