Bern Office

By the mid-1990s, the collapse of the renowned Basel architecture firm Suter + Suter had become inevitable. Peter Epting, partner at Burckhardt and president of FC Basel, leveraged his strong connections with the financial leaders who had taken the firm public in 1986.

Suter + Suter possessed a valuable project management handbook that piqued Burckhardt’s interest and sparked efforts to acquire it. Initial negotiations soon led to the takeover of Suter + Suter’s Bern office, where Burckhardt established a new branch on October 1, 1995. With the three locations in Basel, Zurich, and Bern, the company was now present across the whole of German-speaking Switzerland.

The Suter + Suter team brought a particular strength in managing complex construction projects, a core expertise they seamlessly integrated into Burckhardt and showcased through various general planning commissions. In its early years, the Bern office built hospitals, senior living facilities, spa and wellness centers, and the then-popular leisure and shopping malls. Major contracts quickly equipped the team with extensive knowledge in designing and delivering these third places of urban life. A standout example is the Westside Shopping and Leisure Center in Bern-Brünnen, realized in collaboration with architect Daniel Libeskind.

Burckhardt also emerged as a leader in hospital construction. Numerous projects in the Canton of Bern and surrounding regions highlight the team’s deep expertise in solving intricate planning and construction challenges across healthcare, leisure, industry, commercial, and residential sectors. A collaborative approach with clients and business partners remains a cornerstone of their philosophy.

Until his retirement in 2022, Oliver Schmid guided the Bern office with great prudence and success, initially sharing the top spot with Sven Nägeli. His role was later handed over to Christof Goldschmid.