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biennials.ch
16th International Architecture Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
26 May - 25 Nov 2018
General Information
Left to right: Li Tavor, Ani Vihervaara, Matthew van der Ploeg and Alessandro Bosshard. Project team for the Swiss Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, May 2018 receiving the Golden Lion, 26 May 2018. Photo: Peter Klaunzer / KEYSTONE
The 16th International Architecture Exhibition takes place in Venice from 26 May to 25 November 2018 (Preview May 24th and 25th) at the Giardini and at the Arsenale as well as at various venues in the city. The main exhibition, entitled «Freespace», is curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara

For the first time, Pro Helvetia chose the Swiss contribution by means of a competition. Eligible for participation were architects and interdisciplinary teams operating in the field of architecture. After a two-phase competition on a selective procedure basis, Pro Helvetia decided to entrust the realization of the Swiss participation in the 16th Architecture Biennale of Venice in 2018 to Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara with their project «Svizzera 240: House Tour» . The exhibition focuses on the unfurnished interior of contemporary housing by celebrating a peculiar form of architectural representation — the «house tour».

The project «Svizzera 240: House Tour» by Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara has been awarded the Golden Lion for best national participation.

Entitled En marge de l’architecture: Encounters beyond the discipline, the «Salon Suisse» 2018 is directed by Marcel Bächtiger, Tim Kammasch and Stanislas Zimmermann, with the support of local Salonnière Laura Tinti . A programme of talks and events supplementing the exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion, the «Salon Suisse» takes place at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi. Partner of the «Salon Suisse» is Laufen Bathrooms AG​

 
Salon Suisse
Salonnières: Marcel BächtigerTim Kammasch  and Stanislas Zimmermann 
Local Salonnière: Laura Tinti 
Location: Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro 810, Vaporetto stop: Zattere

The Salon Suisse offers a series of lectures, talks and cultural events supplementing the exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion. Curated by architectural historian Marcel Bächtiger, cultural theorist Tim Kammasch and architect Stanislas Zimmermann with the support of local Salonnière Laura Tinti, this year’s programme is an invitation to a journey. If architecture is an island within the archipelago of the artistic and scientific disciplines, then the Salon is a ship that has left the harbour. From foreign shores, we will look back at architecture and explore its cultural and social relevance today.



Global economic interdependencies affect the existence of every individual; the complexities of transnational power and decision-making undermine democracy and civic engagement; the dizzying pace of digitalisation is redefining human beings and their living environment. Inevitably, these phenomena also affect the self-concept of architecture and architects. The traditional role of architecture as built expression of society seems to become increasingly marginalised. Is “architecture” merely a dazzling disguise of realities that it can no longer in influence nor shape? Do architects find themselves degraded to being vicarious agents of an anonymous real estate market? What social and cultural significance can the built environment have under these circumstances? And what would a culture that deserves being called ‘human’ look like architecturally?

In the long history of architecture, such moments have always proved most fruitful when the discourse opened up to ideas, insights and inventions from other disciplines. Today, it is time to set sail again. On our journey, we will encounter philosophers and anthropologists, writers, musicians and artists, comparatists and social researchers. By discussing their work and its link to architecture, the Salon Suisse will open new perspectives, not only on the potentials of architecture in the 21st century, but also on hidden connections that have always existed among the different disciplines. At the Palazzo Trevisan, we will revive the Enlightenment idea of the “Salon” as a place for cultivated, informative conversations and convivial, sociable exchange. Each soirée is also a cultural event: a concert, a lecture or a performance; a tangible sensory experience that will initiate conversation between the audience and our guests, all of them present over the whole length of a salon.

The «Salon Suisse» programme features an opening event on 24 May followed by three subsequent weekends of events, taking place in the evenings at 6.30 pm from Thursday to Saturday.

Salon One: Opening event on 24 May 2018 at 6.30 pm
Salon Two: 13 September to15 September 2018
Salon Three: 2 October to 6 October 2018
Salon Four: 22 November to 24 November 2018

Please find the «Salon Suisse» Booklet here.

Partner of the «Salon Suisse» is Laufen Bathrooms AG

Collaborator of «Salon Suisse» 2018 is Bern University of Applied Sciences


 
Opening of Salon Suisse 2018
Swiss Pavilion
Installation view of “Svizzera 240: House Tour” at the Swiss Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Photo: Christian Beutler / KEYSTONE
The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is delighted to announce the presentation of «Svizzera 240: House Tour», a project by Alessandro Bosshard , Li Tavor , Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara, at the Swiss Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

The exhibition focuses on the unfurnished interior of contemporary housing by celebrating a peculiar form of architectural representation — the «house tour». 

Image: «Svizzera 240: House Tour» © Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara. Photo: Milena Buchwalder
Events
past event
22 Nov 2018 until 24 Nov 2018
«Salon Suisse» Four: Sailing into tomorrow – but how ?
Salon Suisse Four: Sailing into tomorrow  – but how ?

The year, as well as the Salon, is drawing to a close, but winds and waves are propelling us further into the unknown. In moonlit November nights, we venture a glimpse into the future: what is the nature of the conditions, opportunities and dangers at the dawn of the 21st century? What can we expect from Big Data and Artificial Intelligence? Will the world dissolve into numbers? What does the “fourth industrial revolution” signify for both individuals and society, how will it change our everyday lives? In order to ensure that the outlook to the future does not remain techno- centric, but also considers sense and sensuality, the fourth Salon will unite macro-sociologists and AI researchers with architects, artists, writers and architectural historians. Various routes are to be discussed: paths to a contemporary culture that deserves to be called “humane”.

Location: Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro 810, Vaporetto stop: Zattere

Partner of the «Salon Suisse» is Laufen Bathrooms AG
past event
L'Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio a Venezia presents:

The Practice of Teaching? Students vs Professors


Saturday 10 November 2018 at 2PM
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro 810 Venezia

‘The Practice of Teaching’ section at the 16th Venice Biennale gathers the works of architects who are also professors at the Academy of Architecture – USI located in Mendrisio. At times, the installations directly show the results of the teaching activity, while at others the reference is evocative, dialectical, or indirect. However, a recurring motif in all these interventions is the enrichment that the activity of teaching brings to architectural culture and its practice. Students discuss it in a public meeting with professors of the Accademia di architettura.

Participants include: Walter Angonese, Michele Arnaboldi, Valentin Bearth, Riccardo Blumer, Martin Boesch, Frédéric Bonnet, Mario Botta, Quintus Miller, João Nunes, Valerio Olgiati, Jonathan Sergison.

Open to all and the discussions will be held in Italian and English.
past event
05 Nov 2018 6:00 PM
"Svizzera 240: House Tour" conference at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne!
The team behind "Svizzera 240: House Tour" at the Swiss Pavilion 2018. Left to right: Matthew van der Ploeg, Li Tavor, Alessandro Bosshard and Ani Vihervaara
Join us on Monday, 5 November at Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for a conference with Swiss Pavilion 2018 architects Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor and Matthew van der Ploeg on their Golden Lion winning project  «Svizzera 240: House Tour» at this year's La Biennale di Venezia.

The event will be held in English and will take place at the Archizoom Project Room, SG EPFL Building at 6pm.

More details: https://archizoom.epfl.ch/isle_of_models_fr/page-157989-fr-html/
past event
02 Oct 2018 until 06 Oct 2018
«Salon Suisse» Three: Investigating space as medium
Salon Suisse Three: Investigating space as medium

Twenty years ago, the Bertelsmann Foundation’s report to the Club of Rome on the topic of “The Limits of Social Cohesion” shed light on potential sources of friction in nation states around the globe. Looking back, the report reads as a prediction of the civil wars that have erupted worldwide and social upheavals that have taken place since then. The question of “How to live together?” (Roland Barthes) is of more existential importance than ever today.

As we reach the middle stage of our journey, we will meet guests from anthropology, sociology, art and the history of photography and architecture. From various perspectives, they will direct their gaze to the collective space wherein our daily lives take place. They will deal with the social behaviour of humans, their perception of space and the interaction with the built environment as well as with the architectural and artistic strategies to interpret and shape this world.
 
past event
25 Sep 2018 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Svizzera 240 at the Centre culturel suisse in Paris
Installation view of “Svizzera 240: House Tour” at the Swiss Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Photo: Christian Beutler / KEYSTONE
Svizzera 240 – A lecture by Swiss Pavilion 2018 architects Alessandro Bosshard and Li Tavor

25 September 2018, 8–10 pm
Centre culturel suisse
2-38 rue des Francs-Bourgeois / F-75003 Paris
Reservation: http://ccsparis.com/billetterie

On 25 September 2018, Alessandro Bosshard and Li Tavor, two of the architects behind "Svizzera 240: House Tour", will present the team's research that led to the Golden Lion Award winning project at this year's Swiss Pavilion at the 16th La Biennale di Venezia.
past event
20 Sep 2018 7:00 PM
The curators of the Swiss Pavilion 2018 "Svizzera 240" invite you to join the launch of "House Tour: Views of the Unfurnished Interior"
The curators of the Swiss Pavilion 2018 "Svizzera 240" invite you to join the book launch of "House Tour: Views of the Unfurnished Interior"

Thursday, 20 September 2018, 7pm
Never Stop Reading
Spiegelgasse 18, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

In collaboration with Park Books, the curators of the Swiss Pavilion 2019, Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg, Ani Vihervaara, invite you to join the launch of "House Tour: Views of the Unfurnished Interior" this Thursday at the Never Stop Reading book store in Zurich. 

During the event, the curators will present the image research that acted as the basis for the Svizzera 240 project in discussion with contributors Dr Emma Jones and Professor Martin Steinmann. Imogen Macpherson and Luca Bazelli will show a collection of documentary images of contemporary Swiss interiors. And last but not least, graphic designer Martin Stoecklin and the curators will discuss and contrast the development of the ‘house tour’ in its two dimensional (book) and three dimensional (pavilion) formats, leading to a discussion on how the Swiss Pavilion Svizzera 240 both responds to, and incites, critical debates within contemporary architecture.

All of which you can experience, in less than an hour, with a drink in your hand.
 
past event
13 Sep 2018 until 15 Sep 2018
«Salon Suisse» Two: Reconsidering the cultural value of architecture
Salon Suisse Two: Reconsidering the cultural value of architecture
Stormy winds toss us on the shores of a first group of islands: here we encounter philosophers, a comparatist and a "promenter" in space and time. We hear many a thing: why is architecture a worthy subject for philosophical reflections, for example, and to what extent are relevant to the practice of architecture. A currently highly controversial term is being deliberated: "cultural value" - what could / should that be? How does architecture affect everyday life, how does it interact with people? What testimony do literary discourses give in this regard and what extent do they represent an enrichment of architectural theory? And how is the imaginary literature and film reflected in the practice of architectural design?


Location: Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro 810, Vaporetto stop: Zattere

Partner of the "Salon Suisse" is  Laufen Bathrooms AG
past event
25 May 2018 2:30 PM
Official Opening of the exhibition at the Pavilion of Switzerland
Official Opening of the exhbition at the Swiss Pavilion: «Svizzera 240: House Tour», a project by Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara

Location: Pavilion of Switzerland, Giardini della Biennale
 
past event
24 May 2018 6:30 PM
«Salon Suisse» One: Opening Event
The «Salon Suisse», organized by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and running concomitantly to the exhibition at the Pavilion of Switzerland, is one of Switzerland’s official contributions to the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Consisting of a series of lectures, talks and cultural events, it provides an opportunity to explore architecture in a stimulating atmosphere.

Salon Suisse One: Embarking on a journey

If architecture is an island in the archipelago of artistic and scientific disciplines, then the Salon is the ship that leaves the safe haven. The embarkation is a solemn affair: words of welcome are offered, speeches delivered, clement weather and friendly winds are wished upon the voyagers. Before the departure, exotic songs emanate from the ship’s belly. Times may be difficult, one of the expedition leaders calls to the passengers, but our journey is full of hope. In the long history of architecture, moments like these have always proved most productive, because its discourse opened up to the ideas, insights and inventions of other sciences and arts. Today it is time again to broaden the horizon, hoist sails and set out to foreign shores.


Location: Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro 810, Vaporetto stop: Zattere

Partner of the «Salon Suisse» is Laufen Bathrooms AG
 
past event
24 May 2018 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
“Open House in a Closed Society” – A guided tour and conversation with the project team in the Swiss Pavilion
Project team for the Swiss Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, 1 December 2017. Left to right, Ani Vihervaara, Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor and Matthew van der Ploeg. Photo by Christian Beutler KEYSTONE
The Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich invites you to  “Open House in a Closed Society” – A guided tour and conversation with the project team in the Swiss Pavilion on the occasion of “Svizzera 240”, Thursday, 24 May 2018, 4.30-6 pm 
 
The design of housing is the most common activity of architects. 240cm is the standard height of a Swiss apartment. How does the design of spaces for living resonate with the conditions that lay beyond the immediate task at hand, such as politics, borderlines, and concepts of the private, the public and the common? 
 
With Alessandro Bosshard, Francesca Hughes, Momoyo Kaijima, Alex Lehnerer, John Macarthur, Claudia Perren, Matthew van der Ploeg, Martino Stierli, Isa Stürm, Li Tavor, Martha Thorne, Jan de Vylder, Ani Vihervaara, and others.
 
Introduction by Philip Ursprung, Dean of the Department of Architecture and moderated by Adam Jasper

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Das Departement Architektur der ETH Zürich lädt ein zu Tag der offenen Tür in einer Geschlossenen Gesellschaft – Eine Wohnungsbesichtigung und ein Gespräch mit dem Projektteam im Schweizer Pavillon aus Anlass von „Svizzera 240“ am Donnerstag, 24. Mai 2018, 4.30-6pm.

Der Entwurf von Wohnungen ist die Hauptaufgabe von Architekten. 240cm ist die Standardhöhe von Wohnungen in der Schweiz. Wie hängt die Gestaltung von Wohnraum zusammen mit Themen, die darüber hinausgehen wie Politik, Grenzziehung, dem Privaten, Öffentlichen und Gemeinen? 
 
Mit Alessandro Bosshard, Francesca Hughes, Momoyo Kaijima, Alex Lehnerer, John Macarthur, Claudia Perren, Matthew van der Ploeg, Martino Stierli, Isa Stürm, Li Tavor, Martha Thorne, Jan de Vylder, Ani Vihervaara, und anderen.
 
Einführung von Philip Ursprung, Vorsteher, Department Architektur. Moderiert von Adam Jasper
past event
24 May 2018 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Media Conference at the Swiss Pavilion: «Svizzera 240: House Tour»
Media conference on the exhibition «Svizzera 240: House Tour», a project by Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara

Please find the invitation to the media conference and the accrediation form here.

Location: Pavilion of Switzerland, Giardini della Biennale