Svizzera 240:House Tour EN

About the curatorsThe architects Alessandro Bosshard (MSc ETH Arch.), Li Tavor (MSc ETH Arch.), Matthew van der Ploeg (M.Arch, UIC) and Ani Vihervaara (M.Arch, BAS) live and work in Zurich. They have been working together since 2015 as assistant lecturers and researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, ETH. Alessandro, Li and Matthew currently work with Prof. Dr. Alex Lehnerer in the chair of Architecture and Urban Design.

Svizzera 240:House Tour

A Project by Alessandro Bosshard Li Tavor Matthew van der Ploeg Ani Vihervaara

26 May — 25 November 2018

The most widespread achieve-ments of the constructed world are not to be found in books celebrating archi- tectural history—the success of these architectures may even depend on the extent to which they are overlooked. For the 2018 Biennale Architettura, the Swiss Pavilion draws attention to an architecture that is hidden- in-plain-sight—the interior of contemporary housing. The apartment’s interior enclo-sure is one of modernity’s most successful exports. With only slight variations due to culture or climate, a new flat is very flat indeed—it routinely consists of a volume 240cm in height, dressed with white walls, parquet or tile flooring, and off-the-shelf fittings.

As architectural documents, unfurnished apartment photographs are somewhat odd. It is surprising how something so obvious, present-ed in such a straightforward manner, could trigger so many other thoughts. Images in architecture are typically cherished for their memorability; these photos reveal an architecture that we have collectively decided to forget. Like the whitewashed walls of art galleries and Protestant churches, the walls of a flat were never meant to be looked at. Perhaps this is why images of an empty apartment are a genre more common to real estate rather than architecture. And yet, with only bare walls, doors, windows and floors, few images could be more archi- tectural. The photos offer a matter-of-fact portrayal of architecture itself, but what actually matters here? Such images cannot speak of organisation, use or efficiency. The reliable crutches we typically use when discussing housing come up short.

The Inscrutable InteriorAn Architectural Rorschach Test

The House TourLooking at Empty Apartments

Successful Architecture

Built RepresentationConstructing a Foreign Territory

Becoming a House TouristDrawing the Wrong Conclusion

Taking a photograph of almost nothing creates an image of something, of pure potentiality. Svizzera 240 embraces the unfurnished interior photograph as a plastic representational medium that encourages reflection on a supposedly settled topic. ↓

An unexpected opponent threatens the anonymity of the interior. It is called the house tour. The house tour offers a me-andering, eye-level view of the apartment interior, placing its inconspicuous interior shell under direct scrutiny. For some, the house tour is merely a social formality. For others, it is a cherished ritual. For Swiss architects, the house tour has become an inte-gral aspect of architectural production and dissemination. A house tour can be experienced in person or simu- lated through film or virtual

S Susie

L Larry

S I’ll give you the tour.L No, that’s OK. I get it.S What do you mean?L You know, it’s bedrooms, bathrooms … I get it.S You don’t want a tour?L You don’t need to walk me around …S Get the … out of my house. Get the … out right now!L All right, fine, I’ll take the house tourS I’m done. I’m over it. I’m turned off. Leave! Freak of … nature, doesn’t want a house tour...

—HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season Three, Episode Eight

This envelope is one of the most stable and consistent appea-rances in architecture. Over the past century, housing’s interior surface has not only survived fluctuations in architectural sty- les, but it has also been promoted in the name of sharply contra-sting ideologies. This interior has been austere or luxurious, Marxist or fascist, artistic or clinical, fulfilling the wishes of every client with the same answer. Like all great architectu- res, it does not seem to change. It sells itself as timeless and inevitable. Its appearance has only become more uniform and seamless over time as domestic elements—radiators, appliances, wardrobes, corni-ces and curtain rods—have become background by disap-pearing into the architectural surface. In pursuit of integra- tion and consistency, it is an appearance that appears less and less. ↗

reality, but the format gaining the most traction in Swiss architectural discourse is the photography of unfurnished apartments. These images of empty apartments not only feature on the websites of archi- tectural offices, but they have also recently begun to appear in publications on housing architecture. Such publications were once limited to floor plans and technical drawings. The occasional pho-tograph captured the facade or, if lucky, the stairwell. Now, interior views celebrate the extruded reality of the floor plan. ↗

Do the images depict space? Perhaps, but it is difficult to see beyond the surface. The photos propose an archi- tecture designed for as-yet-unknown occupants, who possess unknown objects and live unknown lives. This asser-tion of uncertainty liberates the shell from its purpose, grant- ing it a level of autonomy. Increasingly free of facts, the enclosure becomes the main protagonist in these images. The interior shell not only looks back at you, but starts to ask questions. Adjectives applied to such an interior—“standard-ised”, “neutral”, “background”—only succeed at first glance. As in a Rorschach test, the back- ground continually threatens to flip into foreground. Emptiness suddenly becomes very full. Images of the pure and empty bring forth questions about its opposite: Yves Klein’s Le Vide was immediately followed by Arman’s Le Plein. Leonardo da Vinci advised painters to seek inspiration in irregular blotches on a wall. Le Corbusier’s Law of Ripolin ordered us to cover them up. It takes more than a coat of whitewash for us to stop hallucinating. ↗

On this tour, there is little to do but look at an architecture that has never been known for its looks. A cast of supporting characters have been dragged into the spotlight: door han-dles, skirting boards, window frames, power outlets, light switches, countertops and cup-board doors. This is not a question of architectural criticism but of architectural discovery. A tour through this alien land-scape loosens the grip of your judgments. You are no longer

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is mandated by the Swiss Confederation to promote artistic creation in Switzerland, contribute to cultural exchange at home, promote the dissemination of Swiss culture abroad and foster cultural outreach. It is responsible for Swiss contributions to the several editions of art and architecture biennials in Venice. Switzerland has taken part in the Biennale Arte since 1920 and in the Biennale Architettura since 1991.

Commissioners, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia: Marianne Burki, Head of Visual Arts, Sandi Paucic, Project Manager, Rachele Giudici Legittimo, Project Coordinator

Biennials Jury Architecture, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia:Marco Bakker, architect at Bakker & Blanc architectes, Lausanne and Zurich, and Prof. EPFL ENAC,Francesco Buzzi, Architectural Director at Buzzi studio d’architettura, Locarno,Irina Davidovici, Architect and Academic Researcher, ETH Zurich, Céline Guibat, Architect, mijong architecture design, Sion and Zurich,Isa Stürm, architect at Isa Stürm Urs Wolf SA, Zurich

Project contributors:Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Cleoriana Benacloche, Jacqueline Wolf

Press Office Switzerland:Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Marlène Mauris, Lisa Stadler

Press Office International:Pickles PR, Kathrin Jira, Caroline Widmer, Camille Regli

an apartment dweller, builder or buyer—you are not an academic or even an architect—you become a new subject, a House Tourist. You gaze at what you already know, but now the magic stupidity of the tourist opens the door to erroneous interpretations. Subjectivity enters the scene, paving the way for alternate readings. What’s public? Anything private? Where’s the facade? You’re looking at it. And who lives here? We all do.

Curators and Exhibitors:Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg, Ani Vihervaara

Project Architect:Milena Buchwalder

Sound Installation: Nicolas Buzzi, Li Tavor

Artwork: Shirana Shahbazi

Photo Laboratory:Tricolor Bildproduktion

Graphic Design Exhibition: Studio Martin Stoecklin, Zürichwith Adrian Schnegg

Typeface:Everett, Nolan Paparelli

Pavilion Photography: Tobias Wootton

Architectural consultant Pavilion:Alvise Draghi

Exhibition contractor:Adunic, Sandro Usznula

Construction manager:Adunic, Billy Beck

Fittings and components:Kunstgiesserei St. Gallen, Noel Hochuli Die Glutz AG, Renato Caccivio

Lightning:Neuco, Thomas Lack

Fundraising:Manuela Schlumpf, Aline Feichtinger

www.svizzera240.ch

www.prohelvetia.ch www.biennials.ch

What has been built in the Swiss Pavilion is not a “house” but a house tour. What is of-fered for your pleasure is latent in the strange potentiality of the images themselves. Instead of representing building, we build representation. You enter an impossible dwelling—the construction of the installation is determined by images of apartments, not by real homes. The photo- graph’s inability to convey scale, dimension, depth or spatial adjacency is presented in built form, creating a laby- rinth of interior perspectives.

The interior of housing is reim- agined, not as an array of private volumes, but as a single, topo-logical surface. The credibility prom-ised by the 1:1 model is discard-ed in favour of an entirely futile set of scales. Rooms os- cillate between 1:5, 1:2, 1:1.6, 1:1.3, 1:1.2, 1:1, 1.1:1, 1.3:1, 1.5:1 and 2:1. The elements of the continuous space are banal, but they refuse to become familiar. This is called “defamil-iarisation”, “estrangement” or some times, “alienation”. Welcome to your new home. Let us show you around. ↗

Sponsors

With the support of

Main Sponsors

16th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia

23 ADP Architekten Mehrfamilienhaus Breitensteinstrasse Year: 2016 / Height: 242 cm Photo: Daniel Sutter, Zürich © Daniel Sutter

24 Phalt Architekten AG Wohnsiedlung Sandfelsen Erlenbach Year: 2014 / Height: 243 cm Photo: Roger Frei, Zürich © Roger Frei

19 Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin Architekten Wohnsiedlung Avellana Year: 2012 / Height: 245 cm Photo: Roland Bernath, Zürich © Roland Bernath

20 Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin Architekten Wohnhaus Steinwies- / Irisstrasse Year: 2015 / Height: 274 cm Photo: Roland Bernath, Zürich © Roland Bernath

11 Schoch Tavli Architekten Wohnhaus Frauenfeld Year: 2016 /Height: 242 cm Photo: Schoch Tavli Architekten © Schoch Tavli Architekten

12 Arge ERP Architekten AG / stehrenberger architektur gmbh; Wohnsiedlung Frankental Year: 2015 / Height: 240 cm Photo: Jürg Zimmermann, Zürich © Jürg Zimmermann

15 pool Wohnhaus Limmattalstrasse Year: 2013 / Height: 243 cm Photo: Martin Stollenwerk, Zürich © Martin Stollenwerk

16 ADP Architekten Wohnsiedlung Bramen Etappe B Year: 2011 / Height: 250 cm Photo: Hannes Henz, Zürich © Hannes Henz

21 Ritter Schumacher AG Segantini Haus F Year: 2009 / Height: 254 cm Photo: Ralph Feiner, Malans © Ralph Feiner

22 pool Wohnhaus Limmattalstrasse Year: 2013 / Height: 243 cm Photo: Martin Stollenwerk, Zürich © Martin Stollenwerk

17 Seiler Linhart Architekten Wohn- und Geschäftshaus Tschanz Year: 2011 / Height: 250 cm Photo: Jean-Pierre Grüter, Luzern © Seiler Linhart Architekten

18 BUR Architekten AG Alterswohnungen Kantengut Year: 2009 / Height: 253 cm Photo: Menga von Sprecher, Maienfeld © Menga von Sprecher

1 Galli Rudolf Wohnsiedlung Paradies Year: 2017 / Height: 248 cm Photo: Ralph Feiner, Malans © Ralph Feiner

2 Giuliani Hönger Wohn- und Gewerbehaus Weidenhof Year: 2015 / Height: 250 cm Photo: David Willen, Zürich © David Willen

5 Burckhardt+Partner AG Wohnüberbauung Sous-Bois Year: 2015 / Height: 256 cm Photo: Thomas Jantscher, Neuchâtel © Thomas Jantscher

6 Igual & Guggenheim Architekten Stadtvilla Am Rossberg Year: 2017 / Height: 240 cm Photo: Beat Bühler, Zürich © Beat Bühler

3 Schneider Gmür Architekten Harmonika Year: 2015 / Height: 246 cm Photo: Pit Brunner, Winterthur © Pit Brunner

4 Guignard & Saner Architekten AG Überbauung Station Illnau Year: 2010 / Height: 250 cm Photo: Roman Keller, Zürich © Roman Keller

7 Guignard & Saner Architekten AG Überbauung Station Illnau Year: 2010 / Height: 250 cm Photo: Roman Keller, Zürich © Roman Keller

8 Galli Rudolf Haus A3 am Rietpark Year: 2012 / Height: 544 cm Photo: Dominique Marc Wehrli, Winterthur  © Dominique Marc Wehrli

9 Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin Architekten Wohnhaus Steinwies- / Irisstrasse Year: 2015 / Height: 274 cm Photo: Roland Bernath, Zürich © Roland Bernath

10 Beat Rothen Architektur Hohfurristrasse / Eichenweg, Winterthur Year: 2014 / Height: 250 cm Photo: Claudia Luperto, Winterthur © Claudia Luperto

13 Bollhalder Eberle Architektur Wohnhäuser Goethestrasse Year: 2014 / Height: 255 cm Photo: Marco Kistler, Zürich © Bollhalder Eberle Architektur

14 Giuliani Hönger Wohn- und Gewerbehaus Weidenhof Year: 2015 / Height: 250 cm Photo: David Willen, Zürich © David Willen

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