This panel explores the role architects play within broader social processes and how the profession can develop stronger and more responsible ways of engaging with the public realm.
Although architects and urban planners contribute essential knowledge about the spatial development of cities, their role in shaping urban decisions often varies depending on institutional frameworks, planning cultures, and public expectations. The discussion will therefore focus not only on how architectural expertise enters decision-making processes, but also on how architects themselves position their work within wider societal dynamics.
Beyond the design of individual buildings, architects increasingly participate in complex environments that involve institutions, civic initiatives, local communities, and the broader public. This requires new forms of communication, collaboration, and professional responsibility, as well as the ability to translate spatial knowledge into a language accessible beyond the discipline.
Bringing together participants from Serbia and Switzerland, the panel will open a comparative conversation on how architects engage with society in different contexts, through professional practice, institutional frameworks, public communication, and emerging media platforms. The aim is to exchange perspectives on how the profession can contribute more actively and responsibly to shaping the future of cities.
This panel also invites a wider audience to join the conversation about how urban environments are created and who gets to influence them. It encourages the public to reflect on who shapes our cities and how citizens, professionals, and institutions can work together to create better urban environments, by offering responses to the following questions: how much influence do architects really have, and how much should they have? And where do citizens stand in this process? The discussion invites the public to challenge the idea that city-making is only a matter for experts.
Moderator:
PhD Milena Kordić – Architect, Associate Professor, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, Acting president of the Association of Belgrade Architects, RS
Panelists:
Beat Aeberhard, City Architect of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland
Simon Frommenwiler, Architect, co-founder of HHF architects, chair of BSA FAS Federation of Swiss Architects Basel, CH
Miljan Salata, Architect and media author, co-founder of the podcast SFERA, RS
MSc Ana Mitić-Radulović, Architect and urban planning professional, co-founder of the professional association CEUS, RS
picture 2: Role of an Architect. Izvor: Jakšić, Milica. „Ambijentalna slika Novog Beograda”. Urbanizam Beograda 25 (1974): 8–11. Ilustracija je prikazana na str. 11.
