Ruedi & Vera Baur

Ruedi Baur, designer, teacher, researcher, author, editor, citizen of a ‘world in need of change’.

Since the 1980s, he has embodied a vision of design rooted in civic transformation and interdisciplinary practice, bridging research, teaching, and real-world application. An early advocate of transdisciplinarity, in 1989 he founded Intégral Ruedi Baur, Paris, Zurich and Berlin; in 2004, the Design2context Institute at ZHdK Zurich; in 2011, Civic City Institute; and in 2019, the design and research laboratory dix-milliards-humains. He has held professorships in Lyon, Offenbach, Leipzig, Quebec, Zurich, Geneva, and Strasbourg. Baur has created influential exposition, environmental design, visual languages, and wayfinding systems—from cultural landmarks like the Centre Pompidou and the New School to major transportation infrastructures, notably developing the passenger information system for the Grand Paris Express. Through design projects, publications, and educational and research initiatives around the world, Baur unites functional clarity with symbolic significance, aiming to make public spaces accessible and meaningful. The upcoming publication ‘Design et mobilité urbaine’ on his contribution to the Grand Paris Express exemplifies his lifelong commitment to connecting visual languages, orientation, and public information, enhancing the travel experience for millions while underscoring design’s transformative civic.

Vera Baur (Paris/Zurich)

Cultural Scientist and Sociologist, specialized in visual, urban and medical anthropology. Vera Baur is president of the association and the international transdisciplinary network Civic City – Institute for research and critical sciences in design and, with Ruedi Baur, directs the Ten-billion-humans design laboratory which aims to carry out research, development and consultancy in relational, civic and social design. She is an associated researcher at the ETH_Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich at the Hubert Klumpner Chair of Architecture and Urban Planning in Urban Anthropology and has been engaged as a visiting professor among others at USEK University, Beirut, EHESS and SciencesPo Paris as well as at the University of Strasbourg. In her research, creative projects and teaching, she aims to combine scientific reflection, activiste commitment and collaborative practice for a more just, solidaire and sustainable world.