Born in 1947 in Muri near Bern, Ursula Staub-Feller grows up in a creative environment. Her father is a landscape architect, and from an early age she loves drawing and designing. Her parents, however, have reservations about her pursuing landscape architecture, so she turns to architecture and interior design instead. In 1964, after completing the foundation course at the School of Applied Arts in Bern, she begins an apprenticeship as an architectural draughtswoman, becoming the first young woman to work at the architectural practice. As a result, she learns early on that she has to prove herself.

Ursula Staub-Feller’s interior design class at the School of Applied Arts in Basel, from 1968 to 1971, is the first to graduate with an officially recognised diploma. During her studies, she attends Richard Hersberger’s design classes for three years. At the graduation ceremony itself, Zurich architect Jakob Zweifel asks whether she would like to work for him – a formative moment of recognition for Ursula Staub-Feller. She later works for interior designer Verena Huber before embarking on a three-year journey through Nepal, India, Southeast Asia and Japan.

During her travels, she not only meets the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi, who offers her insights into his way of seeing and thinking, but also gains diverse and inspiring perspectives on the social life of the communities she encounters. Her time in Japan, where she works at the Mitsubishi Design Company, further broadens her horizons. Travel subsequently remains an important part of her life. She later returns to India and also travels through North and Southern Africa, where she immerses herself in local crafts and cultures.

In 1975, Ursula Staub-Feller establishes her own interior design and design practice in Bern, which she continues to run to this day. Her collaboration with Atelier 5 in Bern becomes particularly influential. From 1996 to 2020, she works with the practice on the interior design of almost all its projects. Alongside her work as an interior designer, from 1984 onwards Ursula Staub-Feller takes on various roles as an expert and lecturer at what are now the Academy of Art and Design in Basel and the Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture. During the 1970s, she also serves on the boards of VSI.ASAI and the Swiss Werkbund SWB.

To this day, Ursula Staub-Feller remains committed to advancing interior design and strengthening its recognition as a profession. With her nuanced and multifaceted approach to both practice and thinking, she is an influential figure in Swiss interior design.

The ai-s archive holds Ursula Staub-Feller’s complete professional archive.

During her many travels, Ursula Staub-Feller develops a fascination with the ways people in other cultures live and inhabit space, particularly how they live together in close quarters. These observations, along with the many inspirations she brings back from her travels, have a lasting influence on her work. The interior designer discovers the benefits of collaborative practice through her work with the architectural practice Atelier 5, with whom she realises numerous projects. Ursula Staub-Feller’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of projects to which she has made significant contributions as an interior designer.

Central to her approach is a sensitivity to space and architecture and an ability to respond to both, complementing and shaping them in ways that best serve the needs and well-being of their users. Ursula Staub-Feller describes this approach in terms of empathy: “An empathetic space appeals to our emotions and moves us when we enter it. It is about spaces designed with sensitivity. The social interactions and the sequence of spaces work together. You can feel when they don’t,” she explains in an interview with the interior design magazine Mag-IIA 4/25.

The following selection of projects offers an insight into the extensive body of work of the Bern-based interior designer. Many of her collaborations span several years, demonstrating the importance of mutual trust as a central aspect of Ursula Staub-Feller’s practice:

2000-2003
Campus Muristalden AG, Bern. Architecture: Atelier 5, Bern; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2004-2006
Hotel Krafft, Basel. Design and implementation of the renovation of 45 rooms; refurbishment of the salon/smoking room. Client: Krafft AG, Basel; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2007-2008
Hotel Krafft, Basel. Conversion of the annexe with 12 rooms and a wine bar. Client: Krafft AG, Basel; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2008-2010
Hotel Restaurant Baseltor, Solothurn. Renovation and conversion. Client: Genossenschaft Baseltor, Solothurn; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2010
Conversion of Voltabräu brewery and restaurant. Client: Krafft AG, Basel; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2010-2013
SRG Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, headquarters, Bern. Conversion and renovation. Architecture: Claude Rykart AG; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2015-2017
Dr. Noyer AG pharmacy. New pharmacies at two locations. Client: Dr. Noyer AG; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2015-2019
Hotel Restaurant Baseltor, Solothurn. Annexes in the tower and neighbouring property, including restaurant and hotel rooms. Client: Genossenschaft Baseltor, Solothurn; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller

2015-2022
Living in Old Age: handbook for the interior design and furnishing of Domicil AG facilities in Bern. Client: Domicil AG, Bern. Interior design by Ursula Staub-Feller implemented at the following Domicil locations: Schönegg, Bern; Weiermatt, Münchenbuchsee; Hausmatte, Hinterkappelen; Alexandra, Bern; Oberried dementia centres; Wildermettpark, Bern; Elfenau, Bern; Lindengarten, Bolligen; Spitalackerpark, Bern

2023-24
Dr. Noyer AG pharmacy, Switzerland’s first veterinary pharmacy. Client: Dr. Noyer AG; Interior design: Ursula Staub-Feller