Programme Salon Suisse 2012 - biennials.ch

Curated by Robert Guy Wilson
1

Fifteen Nights and
One Morning

Introduction
Welcome to the inaugural Salon Suisse, a
place and a programme of open discourse:
panel discussions, events and conversations
on architecture.
The place is the Salone of the historic
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi at Campo S. Agnese
in Dorsodoro, a grand but intimate space in
the heart of Venice, and a place to plan to come,
relax, meet, listen and talk or perhaps even
just come across by chance at the end of the day
in that awkward threshold time before supper
– for a cocktail-hour conversation or two.
The programme is designed to both com -
plement and extend the debate on issues arising
from the presentation at the Swiss Pavilion
of Miroslav Šik’s And Now the Ensemble!!!, and
to explore the common or shared ground of
architecture today, questioning its new centres
of gravity, worrying at the thresholds of
its theory and the edges of its practice, and
looking at the knotty problem of architec -
tural representation – just how is architecture
understood more generally
In all, the intention is to get to grips with
architecture, what is it to be an architect,
and to ask what significance does architecture
have in the world today
5

And whilst we start by using a distinctly
Swiss prism to do all of this, by considering
what Swiss architectural culture shares with,
and how it differs from, architectural culture
more generally, we hope to throw light on the
whole.
The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia asked
me to be your Salonnier. As such I am
the curator of the programme as well as your
personal host. My background is that I am
an architect, curator and writer. I edit Block
magazine and co-edit the new web-based
magazine uncube.
I’ll be present during opening hours to
welcome visitors, make introductions and help
everyone feel at ease. As mentioned, all the
events are held in the Salone of the Palazzo
Trevisan degli Ulivi, a pretty special setting –
with amazing views out to Giudecca – so hope -
fully it won’t be too hard. And in the tradition
of the Salon, evenings are designed to offer a
stimulating atmosphere of intellectual discussion,
mixed with wit and pleasure! – whether
there is a panel discussion, film showing, or
an Open Salon discussion taking place.
I’ve invited practitioners and commentators,
architects, academics, curators, writers
and editors to cue and start the discussions – as
well as you of course, so feel free to join in: the
events are open to all.
Just to note, the Salon Suisse is open
during three weeks of the Biennale, over five
days: Tuesday to Saturday and from 5:30 pm
to 9:30 pm, irrespective of whether an organised
event is taking place on the night or not.
Please see the full diary on pages 26 and 27.
This booklet explains and lists what’s
going on. But just to give an overview of the
Salon, it’s structured around three programmes
of events – discussions, conversations, readings,
presentations, film-screenings – looking
first at architectural theory: what is architecture;
then at teaching and practice: what is it
to be an architect now; and finally architectural
representation: how is architecture
critiqued, disseminated, and more generally
understood out there The whole kicks off with
a major panel discussion organized by
ETH Zurich and we’re also holding a UK/Swiss
weekender in partnership with the British
Council in October.
So welcome again and I hope you enjoy Salon
Suisse.
Robert Guy Wilson
Salonnier, Salon Suisse
6 7

Salon 1
August 28 th —September 1 st
Part I: talking architecture, theory … and
a touch of the Swiss.
This series of discussions, conversations
and events looks at theories and
definitions of architecture. It takes as
its starting point themes arising
from the work of Miroslav Šik in the Swiss
Pavilion and from the Architecture
Biennale’s title Common Ground – questioning
architecture, its origins, autonomy
as a discipline, common influences
and shared roots – and its future.
9

Night One
Tuesday 28 th August
7:00 pm
Common Images: Architecture and
the Iconic Turn.
Panel discussion with: Iñaki Ábalos, Barry
Bergdoll, Hélène Binet, Adam Caruso,
Beatriz Colomina, Karin Sander, Miroslav
Šik. Chaired by Philip Ursprung.
Have images helped architecture to
transgress limits of language and culture
and strengthen its role as communicative
element, or are they responsible for a
homogenization of globalized architecture
This panel discussion looks at the
question of image versus text in recent
architectural culture, and asks if the
notion of the image enables us to better
understand architecture today.
Common Images: Architecture
and the Iconic Turn.
Organized by ETH Zurich.
One Morning
Wednesday 29 th August
11:00 am
Switching to Analogue: what is the
influence of Analogue Architecture
on theory and practice today
Round-table discussion with: Christoph
Gantenbein, Penny Lewis, Quintus Miller,
Stanislaus von Moos, Steven Spier.
Chaired by Rob Wilson.
What has the legacy of analogue
architecture been for architectural
culture both in Switzerland and internationally
This discussion considers key
concepts coming out of analogue architecture
and its teaching – in attitude to
site and the city, to ideas of ‘old-new’ and
‘atmosphere’ in architecture – and its
connection to the work of Aldo Rossi and
Robert Venturi, seeking to reassess
its influence and relevance to theory and
practice today.
10
11

12:30 pm
A Literary Lunch
Presentation of publications associated
with the Swiss Pavilion and Salon Suisse.
These will include the Swiss Pavilion
catalogue: Miroslav Šik, And Now the
Ensemble!!!, Block magazine, edited by Rob
Wilson, as well as new books on the work
of Miroslav Šik and his collaborators
in the Swiss Pavilion: Axel Fickert and
Kaschka Knapkiewicz, Paola Maranta and
Quintus Miller. In particular: Miroslav
Šik, published by Heinz Wirz, a new
monograph and Miller and Maranta:
Vecchio Ospizio San Gottardo, published
by Park Books, on this historic building’s
renovations. Accompanied by drinks
and sandwiches. Co-hosted by Block.

Night Two
Wednesday 29 th August
6:00 pm
Mother of All Arts or Master of One
Questioning architecture’s ‘common
ground’.
Readings and round-table discussion with
Liza Fior, Tim Kammasch, Joseph
Rykwert, Philip Ursprung. Chaired by
Irena Murray.
What is architecture’s common or
shared ground with other disciplines and
arts, or to what extent is it an autonomous
discipline And how is this changing
or being redefined today Readings and
discussion on the changing ideas and
criteria by which the principles of architecture
have been drawn, defined, or
mythically originated.
Night Three
Thursday 30 th August
6:00 pm
Miroslav Šik: Drawing and Film.
Conversation with Miroslav Šik talking to
Geoff Shearcroft about the importance
and use of drawing in his work, both as
a practitioner and as a teacher, from
his early hand-drawings to the computercollages
of today – the latter seen in And
Now the Ensemble!!! at the Swiss Pavilion.
He will discuss his interest in cinema, in
particular the films of Jim Jarmusch and
Wim Wenders, and its influence on his
work and drawings.
7:30 pm
Alice in den Städten, 1974. Directed
by Wim Wenders.
Film screening, selected by Miroslav Šik.
The first part of Wenders’ ‘Road Movie
14
15

Trilogy’, the film is shot in black and white
and follows a writer Phil Winter return -
ing to Germany from the United States
and encountering a German woman
and her daughter Alice on the journey.
After the mother asks Phil to look after
Alice temporarily, Phil finds himself stuck
with the girl, searching the cities of
Germany for her grandmother, whose
name and address Alice can’t remem -
ber – the only clue a photograph of her
grandmother’s front door. The film’s
theme closely foreshadows Wenders’ later
film Paris, Texas.
Nights Four & Five
Open Salon
Friday 31 st August
Saturday 1 st September
5:30 pm onwards
Come, talk architecture
on Corb sofas over a drink.
16

Salon 2
October 16 th —October 20 th
Part II: talking architecture, practice …
and a touch of the Swiss.
This second series of events looks at the
practice of architecture today: the
business of being an architect. It includes
the insight of working on a global
scale offered by Christoph Schaub and
Michael Schindhelm’s film ‘Bird’s
Nest’, on Herzog and de Meuron’s work in
China, but also the personal views of
key Swiss and British practitioners,
academics and writers participating in
two major round-table discussions.
These will compare and contrast shared
and differing aspects of the two architectural
cultures of Switzerland and the
UK: research, polytechnic education,
competitions, the construction industry,
exploring key influences on teaching
and practice today.
19

Nights Six & Seven
Open Salon
Tuesday 16 th October
Wednesday 17 th October
5:30 pm onwards
Come, talk architecture
on Corb sofas over a drink.
Night Eight
Thursday 18 th October
6:00 pm
Bird’s Nest. Herzog and De Meuron
in China, 2008. A Film by Christoph
Schaub and Michael Schindhelm.
akku worms eye © Gruppe
Following the design and construction of
the 100,000-seat National Stadium for the
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games over a five
year period, this documentary shows how
Herzog and de Meuron, the Basel-based
architects, found themselves working with
China’s largest state construction company,
artist and architect Ai Wei Wei, lawyers,
and countless government bureaucrats. It
explores the complex and often difficult
negotiations and communications between
two cultures, two architectural traditions
and two political systems.
20
21

Night Nine
Friday 19 th October
6:00 pm
Nurture Models of teaching and
research, and their relationship to
contemporary practice.
Round-table discussion with Sabine von
Fischer, Jean-Paul Jaccaud, Samuel Penn,
Jonathan Sergison, Peter Staub, Astrid
Staufer. Chaired by Vicky Richardson.
What is the significance of differing
structures of architectural education
for how architects see their practice And
how do specific cultures of teaching and
research feed into and inform this practice
This discussion focuses on teaching,
pedagogy and research in architecture,
bringing UK and Swiss practitioners and
academics together to question its significance
in their own practice and for the
development of architecture as a whole.
Nurture or Nature A Swiss/UK
Weekender on cultures of research,
teaching and practice. In partnership
with the British Council.
22
Night Ten
Saturday 20 th October
6:00 pm
Nature Contexts and cultures of
building and practice, and their role
as active research.
Round-table discussion with Nicholas
Lobo Brennen, Emanuel Christ, Andrea
Deplazes, Tom Emerson, Elli Mosayebi.
Chaired by Irina Davidovici.
What are the commonalities and
differences in the practice of architecture,
between the UK, Switzerland and
elsewhere How does this reflect cultural
differences as a whole And what are
the current factors that are changing and
moulding the development of practice
into the future This discussion focuses
on differing practices of architecture,
considering how the reciprocal interest
and influence between UK and Swiss
practitioners over the last 25 years is
changing today.
23

Cambridge © Penny Lewis

Diary Salon Suisse 2012
Salon 1
talking architecture,
theory … and a touch
of the Swiss
Night One
Tuesday 28 th August
7:00 pm — Common
Images: Architecture
and the Iconic Turn
One Morning
Wednesday 29 th August
11:00 am — Switching
to Analogue: the
influence of Analogue
Architecture on
theory and practice
12:30 pm — A Literary
Lunch. Presentation of
Swiss Pavilion and
Salon Suisse publications.
Co-host:
‘Block’ magazine
Night Two
Wednesday 29 th August
6:00 pm — Mother of All
Arts or Master of One
Questioning architecture’s
‘common ground’
Night Three
Thursday 30 th August
6:00 pm — Miroslav Sik
in conversation:
Drawing and Film
7:30 pm — Alice in den
Städten, 1974, Film
Nights Four & Five
Friday 31 st August
Saturday 1 st September
5:30 pm onwards —
Open Salon
Salon 2
talking architecture,
practice … and a
touch of the Swiss
Nights Six & Seven
Tuesday 16 th October
Wednesday 17 th October
5:30 pm onwards —
Open Salon
Night Eight
Thursday 18 th October
6:00 pm — Bi r d’s N e s t.
Herzog and De Meuron in
China, 2008, Film
Night Nine
Friday 19 th October
6:00 pm — Nurture
Part one of a Swiss/UK
Weekender on cultures
of research, teaching
and practice
Night Ten
Saturday 20 th October
6:00 pm — Nature Part
two of a Swiss/UK
Weekender on cultures
of research, teaching
and practice
Salon 3
talking architecture,
representation …
and a touch of the
Swiss
Night Eleven
Tuesday 20 th November
6:00 pm — Roger Diener
in conversation
Night Twelve
Wednesday 21 st November
6:00 pm — Publishing
Provocations: An
’ARCHIZINES’ LIVE Event
7:30 pm — Block Issue
no. 3 — Commerce.
Magazine launch
Night Thirteen
Thursday 22 th November
6:00 pm — Il Girasole:
A House Near Verona,
1995, Fi lm
Night Fourteen
Friday 23 th November
6:00 pm — Swiss in
Print: Swiss architecture’s
representation
through writing and
publishing
Night Fifteen
Saturday 24 th November
6:00 pm — Show and Tell:
communicating architecture

Salon 3
November 20 th — November 24 th
Part III: talking architecture,
representation … and a touch of the Swiss.
This third programme of conversations
and discussions looks at the more discursive
practices of architectural culture:
curating, writing, publishing, and the
documenting and presenting of
archi tecture through film and television.
It considers questions around architecture’s
wider dissemination and more
diverse practices of architectural culture,
including a conversation with Roger
Diener on how he sees the communication
of his own practice; an event with
ARCHIZINES looking at new architectural
magazine publishing; and discussions
exploring architecture’s representation
through writing, and how it is presented
and consumed out in the wider world.
29

Night Eleven
Tuesday 20 th November
6:00 pm
Roger Diener in conversation.
In conversation with Roger Diener,
Diener & Diener Architekten, talking about
his recent projects, his practice, and
how he sees this, and architecture in general,
represented and communicated to
a wider audience. With Rob Wilson.
Night Twelve
Wednesday 21 th November
6:00 pm
Publishing Provocations: An
ARCHIZINES LIVE Event.
Jeanette Beck, Camenzind; Foreign
Architects Switzerland; Matteo Ghidoni,
San Rocco; Rob Wilson, Block.
Co-hosted with Elias Redstone, Curator,
ARCHIZINES.
A round-table discussion exploring
the motives and motivations behind
several new architecture magazines,
asking what provoked them to publish in
the first place What are their aims
through their own publications Who or
what do they want to influence and
provoke in return This discussion will
explore the role of publishing in architectural
discourse and the power of the
media to challenge and change the
status quo.
30
31

Night Thirteen
Thursday 22 th November
7:30 pm
Block Launch: Issue no. 3 –
Commerce.
Hot off the press, the launch of the new
issue of Block, edited by Rob Wilson,
which is focused on the sometimes glossy,
sometimes dirty word and world of
commerce and architecture, looking at
high streets, high finance, murky money,
and retail – from the selling spaces of
art to the shop floor – and how architects
seek to balance the needs of art and
money in their own practice. Accompanied
by drinks.
6:00 pm
Il Girasole: A House Near Verona,
1995. A film by Christoph Schaub and
Marcel Meili. With contributions by
Sochitl Forster, Katja Lässer, Marcel
Meili and Christoph Schaub, 17 min.
This award-winning short film follows
a day in the life of ‘Il Girasole’, or ‘The
Sunflower’, the rotating modernist
house built in 1935 into a hillside of the
Po Valley in northern Italy. The house,
designed by architects Angelo Invernizzi
and Ettore Fagiuoli, has a motor that
turns it 360 degrees on its own axis, following
the course of the sun. This atmospheric
film brings to life the imaginative
and poetic vision of living in an avantgarde
dream – a theme more recently
picked up in ‘Koolhaas HouseLife’.
32
33

Night Fourteen
Friday 23 th November
6:00 pm
Swiss in Print: Swiss architecture’s
representation through writing
and publishing.
A round-table discussion with Thomas
Kramer, Caspar Schärer, Martin
Steinmann. Chaired by Rob Wilson.
This discussion looks at the importance
of critical writing and the different
mediums of publishing – books, magazines
and newspapers – in Swiss architectural
culture over the last 30 years, exploring
its development today, and questioning
more generally how architecture is represented
through the medium of print.
Night Fifteen
Saturday 24 th November
6:00 pm
Show and Tell: communicating
architecture.
A round-table discussion with Beatrice
Galilee, Kester Rattenbury, Christoph
Schaub. Chaired by Tom Dyckhoff.
An evening considering how architecture
is communi cated, represented
and disseminated, from single off-space
installations to whole Biennales,
and individual blogs to design websites,
television, film and the mass media.
Who is the audience for this Is it mostly
architects talking to architects, to a
waiting world or to a largely indifferent
public
34
35

Abstraction © Penny Lewis

Biographies
Iñaki Abalos (born 1956, San Sebastián, Spain) is
a Director of Abalos+Sentkiewicz arquitectos, which
he founded in 2006 with Renata Sentkiewicz. He
is Professor in Residence at the Graduate School of
Design, Harvard University.
Jeanette Beck (born 1977) has been an editor of
Camenzind since 2007, joining Benedikt Boucsein,
Axel Humpert and Tim Seidel, who all founded the
magazine in 2005. She works for the City of Bern in
the Department of Urban Planning, and sits on the
board of the Architekturforum Bern.
Barry Bergdoll is the Philip Johnson Chief Curator
of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern
Art (MoMA) in New York and a Professor of architectural
history in the Department of Art History and
Archaeology at Columbia University.
Hélène Binet (born 1959, Sorengo, Switzerland)
is an architectural photographer and studied photography
at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Rome.
She is an advocate of analogue photography, so works
exclusively with film. She lives in London.
Nicholas Lobo Brennan an architect, established
G R U P P E in 2010 with Boris Gusic and Christoph Junk.
He teaches with Tom Emerson at ETH Zurich. He has
previously worked at Architekturbüro Peter Zumthor
as well as in London and São Paulo.
Adam Caruso (born 1962, Montreal, Canada)
established his own practice Caruso St John Architects
with Peter St John in 1990. He is Professor
of Architecture and Construction at the ETH Zurich,
and lives and works in London.
Emanuel Christ (born 1970, Basel, Switzerland)
established his own practice Christ & Gantenbein
with Christoph Gantenbein in 1998. The practice has
since built projects in Switzerland, Germany,
England, China and Mexico. He is Assistant Professor
at the ETH Zurich.
Beatriz Colomina (born Spain) is an architectural
historian. She is Professor of History and Theory,
Director of Graduate Studies and of the Program in
Media and Modernity at Princeton University School
of Architecture. She has written and lectured exten -
sively on questions of architecture and media.
Irina Davidovici (born 1971, Bucharest, Romania)
Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Director
of Undergraduate History and Theory at Kingston
University, London. She qualified as an architect
and worked for Herzog & de Meuron and Caruso St John
before resuming an academic career.
Andrea Deplazes (born 1960, Chur, Switzerland)
established his own practice Bearth & Deplazes
Architekten AG with Valentin Bearth in 1988. The
practice has offices in Chur and Zurich. He is
Professor and Chair of Architecture and Construction
at ETH Zurich.
38 39

Roger Diener (born 1950, Basel, Switzerland)
joined the office, established by his father Marcus
Diener, in 1980, which was renamed Diener & Diener
Architekten. The practice has offices in Basel and
Berlin. He is Professor and Chair of Architecture
and Design at the ETH Zurich — Studio Basel.
Tom Dyckhoff is a broadcaster and writer on
architecture, cities and design. He presents and BBC
2’s weekly arts magazine programme, The Culture
Show. He was until recently the architecture and
design critic of The Times newspaper, London. He
lives in London.
Tom Emerson founded 6a architects with Stephanie
Macdonald in London in 2001. In 2010 he was appointed
Professor of Architecture at the ETH Department of
Architecture in Zurich. He lives in London.
Liza Fior (born London, UK) was a founding partner
of muf architecture/art in 1995 with Katherine
Clarke. In 2010, she was the Curator of the British
Pavilion at the 12 th International Architecture
Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. She lives and
works in London.
Sabine von Fischer is an architect and writer, and
former editor of werk, bauen + wohnen. She has
practiced in Zurich and New York, and is a lecturer
in architectural criticism at the Department of
Architecture, ETH Zurich, where she is completing
her PhD on space, sound and architecture.
Foreign Architects Switzerland are a group of
anonymous architects, who produce a publication
that appears in a zine format, which they describe
as ‘a platform for ideas, projects, and people
that remain illegitimate to the brain-dead, incestuous
architectural media of Switzerland’.
Beatrice Galilee (born 1982, London, UK) is the Chief
Curator for the 2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
Trained in architecture, she is also a writer and
critic on contemporary architecture and design, and
co-founded The Gopher Hole, an exhibition and event
space in London, which she directs.
Christoph Gantenbein (born 1971, St. Gallen,
Switzerland) established his own practice Christ &
Gantenbein with Emanuel Christ in 1998. The practice
has since built projects in Switzerland, Germany,
England, China and Mexico. He is Assistant Professor
at the ETH Zurich.
Matteo Ghidoni (born 1972, Brescia, Italy) is an
architect and Editor-in-chief of San Rocco magazine
and the founding partner of Salottobuono, design
laboratory based in Milan, set up in 2005. He is
completing a PhD in Urban Studies at IUAV University,
Venice.
Jean Paul Jaccaud (born 1971, Hong Kong, China)
established Jean-Paul Jaccaud Architects in
Geneva in 2004, having previously worked for David
Chipperfield Architects and Herzog & de Meuron
40 41

amongst others. He has taught extensively and was
Visiting Professor at the EPF Lausanne until 2010.
Tim Kammasch (born 1967, Berlin, Germany) is
Professor for Architectural Theory in the Joint
Master of Architecture at Bern University of Applied
Sciences. He is a Doctor of Philosophy and previously
held positions at Zurich University and ETH
Zurich.
Thomas Kramer (born 1966) is the Managing
Director and Chief Editor Scheidegger & Spiess AG, the
Zurich-based art, architecture and photography
publishers, and its specifically architectural
affiliate imprint Park Books. He is the author and
editor of several books, mainly in the fields of
architecture and the history of film.
Penny Lewis is the Masters Course Leader and
Lecturer in Architectural Theory and History at the
Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Robert
Gordon University, Aberdeen. She was a Jury member
for the British Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2012
and Editor of Prospect magazine from 2003—2008.
Quintus Miller (born 1961, Aarau, Switzerland)
founded his practice Miller & Maranta with Paola
Maranta in 1994 in Basel. He is Professor at
the Accademia di Architettura, Università della
Svizzera Italiana, Mendrisio, Switzerland.
Miller & Maranta alongside Knapkiewicz & Fickert,
were invited to collaborate with Miroslav Sik
in the Swiss Pavilion.
Stanislaus von Moos (born 1940, Lucerne,
Switzerland) is an art historian and architectural
theorist. He was Editor of Archithese magazine,
which he founded in 1970, Professor of Modern and
Contemporary Art at the University of Zurich
until 2005 and more recently The Vincent Scully
Visiting Professor of Architectural History at
Yale.
Elli Mosayebi (born 1977, Tehran, Iran) estab -
lished her own practice with Christian Mueller
Inderbitzin and Ron Edelaar in 2004 and is now
a partner of BS + EMI Architektenpartner AG since
2011. She is currently engaged in completing a
PhD at ETH Zurich.
Irena Murray (born Prague, Czechoslovakia) is
an architectural historian and the Sir Banister
Fletcher Director of the British Architectural
Library at the Royal Institute of British Architects,
London. She has a PhD in Architectural
History and Theory from McGill University, and has
served as a consultant to Canadian and American
libraries and museums.
Samuel Penn (born 1972, Fife, Scotland) is a
lecturer and manages the Year 3 programme of the
Architecture Masters Course at the Scott Sutherland
School of Architecture, Robert Gordon University,
Aberdeen. He is the Co-director of the AE
Foundation for Architecture & Education, which
encourages international discourse in practice
and education.
42 43

Kester Rattenbury is an architectural journalist,
critic and writer. Previously she trained as an
architect, before completing a PhD on architecture
in the mass media. She is a Reader in Architecture at
the University of Westminster, where she teaches a
Diploma Studio with Sean Griffiths of Fashion Architecture
Taste.
Elias Redstone (born Stoke-in-Teignhead, UK) is an
independent curator, writer, editor and consultant.
He is the founder and curator of ARCHIZINES, the
editor-in-chief of the London Architecture Diary
and an online columnist for the New York Times’ T
Magazine.
Vicky Richardson is the Director Architecture,
Design, Fashion at the British Council in London.
She was previously Editor of Blueprint, the monthly
architecture and design magazine and Deputy Editor
of RIBA Journal. She is a regular writer on architecture
and design.
Joseph Rykwert (born 1926, Warsaw, Poland) is
an architectural historian and critic, the Professor
of Architecture Emeritus at the University of
Pennsylvania and author of many influential works
of architectural criticism and history including
The Idea of a Town (1963), On Adam’s House in Paradise
(1972) and The Dancing Column (1996).
Karin Sander (born 1957, Bensberg, Germany) is an
artist. She has been the Professor of Architecture
and Art at ETH Zurich since 2007, where she is
responsible for the artistic education of students
at the Department of Architecture. She lives
and works in both Zurich and Berlin, and exhibits
internationally.
Christoph Schaub (born 1958, Zurich, Switzerland)
is a film producer and director, best known for
his features Stille Liebe (2001), Sternenberg (2004)
and Jeune Homme (2006), who also makes documentaries,
focusing on architectural and urban themes,
including Il Girasole (1995) and Bird’s Nest (2008).
Caspar Schärer (born 1973, Liestal, Switzerland)
studied architecture (at ETH Zurich) and journalism
and is an editor for the magazine werk, bauen +
wohnen and a regular contributor to other magazines
and newspapers. He is based in Zurich.
Jonathan Sergison (born 1964, St. Asaph, Wales)
established Sergison Bates architects with Stephen
Bates in 1996. He is Professor of Architectural
Design at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio,
Switzerland, and has previously taught at a number
of schools of architecture in the UK and Switzerland.
Geoff Shearcroft is a Director of AOC Architecture,
which he established in 2003 with Tom Coward,
Daisy Froud and Vincent Lacovara. He has taught
and lectured internationally and is a Unit Tutor at
London Metropolitan University.
Miroslav Šik (born 1953, Prague, Czechoslovakia) is
Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich,
44 45

where he studied architecture under Aldo Rossi and
Mario Campi. As a theoretician he is an initiator of
‘Analogue Architecture’ and in 1987 he established
his own practice in Zurich. He is representing
Switzerland at the 13 th Venice Architecture Biennale.
Steven Spier (born 1959, Montreal, Canada) is
Professor and Head of the School of Architecture and
Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast.
He has written and lectured extensively and is an
authority on contemporary European, especially
Swiss, architecture.
Peter Staub is Associate Professor of Architectural
Design Theory at the University of Liechtenstein.
He was previously Unit Master at the
Architectural Association School of Architecture
in London and taught at the École Polytechnique
Fédérale in Lausanne.
Philip Ursprung (born 1963, Baltimore, USA) is
an art historian and the Professor of the History of
Art and Architecture at ETH Zurich. Until 2011 he
was the Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at
the University of Zurich.
Robert Guy Wilson (born 1967, Torquay, UK) is a
curator, writer and editor, who trained as an
architect. He is Editor of Block magazine, Associate
Lecturer in Criticism, Communication and
Curation at Central St Martins, London, and lives
and works in London and Berlin. He is Salonnier
of Salon Suisse.
Astrid Staufer (born 1963, Lausanne, Switzerland)
established her own practice Staufer Hasler with
Thomas Hasler in 1994. In 2009 she became President
of the Editorial Committee of the magazine werk,
bauen + wohnen, and since 2011 she has been Professor
of Architecture at the Technische Universität Vienna.
Martin Steinmann (born 1942) is an architect and
author, and studied architecture at ETH Zurich.
He has written extensively on contemporary Swiss
architecture, and was Editor of Archithese magazine
from 1979 —86. Since 1987 he has been Professor of
Architecture at ETH Lausanne.
46 47

Partner
Laufen Bathrooms AG is partner of the ‘Salon Suisse’
because our products are designed respecting
the principals of internationally renowned Swiss
Architecture: clear form, quality and sustainability.
The Biennials of Venice are the platform par
excellence for international cultural exchange,
as practiced at the ‘Salon Suisse’ — Palazzo Trevisan.
Alberto Magrans,
Senior Managing Director Laufen Bathrooms AG
Arsenale
San Marco
Swiss Pavilion
Sponsors
Palazzo Trevisan
Zattere
Giardini
Supporters of Panel Discussions
48

Imprint
‘Salon Suisse’ is the event programme accompany ing the participation of
Switzerland at the 13 th Inter national Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia.
It is initiated and organized by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Publisher
Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Hirschengraben
22, CH-8024 Zurich, prohelvetia.ch
Editor and Text
Robert Guy Wilson, London, blockmagazine.co.uk
Assistant
Maja Sendecki
Copy–editor and Proofreader
Johanna Malt, London
Graphic Design
Brigitte Lampert and Katharina Hofer, Zurich
brigittelampert.ch, kathrinhofer.ch
Photographer
Iris Çzak, Berlin
Printing
Schwabe, Muttenz
Edition
6000
© 2012 Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
Robert Guy Wilson, Iris Çzak

‘Salon Suisse’ is the event programme accompany ing the participation of
Switzerland at the 13 th Inter national Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia.
It is initiated and organized by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Salon Suisse — Palazzo Trevisan
degli Ulivi, Campo S. Agnese,
Dorsoduro 810, Venice — biennials.ch