Liisa Gunnarsson studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Technology in Stockholm (KTH) after brief spells in philosophy and the applied arts. Before graduating in 2011 she attended an exchange program at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH Zurich) for a year. Her diploma thesis was nominated for the OFFECT-Student Award. After gaining experience with her own practice and from working at various architect offices in Sweden as well as in Switzerland she joined Studio Basel as a teaching assistant in 2012.