Sharing Space: Teilen von Sakral- und Kirchenräumen.

Anja Beer was born in Aarau in 1979. After completing her apprenticeship as a architectural draftsman at Weber Architekten in Beinwil am See (1995–1999), she studied architecture at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland in Muttenz, where she received her degree in 2005. During her studies, she completed an internship at Christ & Gantenbein in Basel. This was followed by positions at Bachelard Wagner Architekten and at Miller & Maranta (2006–2009). Since 2010, she has co-directed the firm Beer Merz Architekt:innen in Basel with David Merz. Since the founding of Beer Merz Architekt:innen, Anja Beer has primarily developed and overseen renovations, rehabilitations, and smaller new construction projects. Engaging with the existing building stock as well as current and new functions requires the search for solutions developed with consideration and respect. The transformation of the First Church of Christ Scientist into the rehearsal center for the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the renovation of Villa Merian in Münchenstein, and the restoration and optimization of the Grossmünster in Zurich are particular focal points of her work.

After being admitted to the BSA in 2018, Anja Beer has served on the Admissions Committee of the Basel chapter—first as a member starting in 2019 and as chairwoman since 2023. She regularly serves on juries and has been a member of the Riehen Townscape Commission (BS) since 2023. In 2018, she was admitted to the Swiss Architects’ Association (BSA). Since 2023, she has been a member of the Riehen Townscape Commission. In 2024, she was elected co-president of the BSA Switzerland alongside Lilitt Bollinger and simultaneously took on a two-semester visiting professorship at ETH Zürich.

Andreas Hindemann is the master builder of Basel Cathedral. In this role, he oversees the ongoing restoration work at Basel Cathedral. He is also the executive director of the Basel Cathedral Building Guild Foundation. The foundation currently employs eight staff members (stonemasons, stone sculptors, and restorers). The Münsterbauhütte’s current main project, under the overall project management of Andreas Hindemann, is the restoration of the tower of the Neo-Gothic Elisabethenkirche in Basel.

Since October 2002, he has also been employed as an architect and construction manager by the Evangelical Reformed Church of Basel-Stadt. In this role, Andreas Hindemann carries out various types of construction projects, such as renovations, repairs, and expansions of parish halls and parsonages, and in particular the restoration of churches from various architectural eras spanning from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. A new church in Bettingen, designed by him, was also completed and opened in November 2021.

Mareike Scherer is a social anthropologist with many years of experience in research, teaching, and practical educational work at the intersection of cultural and religious diversity, coexistence, and social participation. She studied cultural and social anthropology in Heidelberg, Vienna, and Maynooth and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Zurich. Since 2024, she has been responsible for the education division at the House of Religions – Dialogue of Cultures and has served as an associate researcher at the University of Zurich. She is also actively involved with Consciente Switzerland as a board member and coordinator of the Program for Educational Innovation. Her work combines academic research with practice-oriented educational work and interreligious dialogue.