Pavilion of Switzerland at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia: ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’

Press release, Venice Biennale
© Keystone/Gaëtan Bally

The Swiss Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, commissioned by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, presents the exhibition ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’ curated by Elena Chiavi, Kathrin Füglister, Amy Perkins, Axelle Stiefel and Myriam Uzor.

In Switzerland’s contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venzia, the curators ask: ‘What if Lisbeth Sachs, rather than Bruno Giacometti, had designed the Swiss Pavilion?’

Sachs (1914–2002) was one of the first registered female architects in Switzerland and a contemporary of Bruno Giacometti, the designer of the Swiss Pavilion in the Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia. It is at this pavilion that the curators aim to revive the short-lived art hall created by Lisbeth Sachs for the 1958 Swiss exhibition for women’s work (SAFFA) in Zurich, in an act of construction that points to the historical absence of women architects in the Giardini.

Juxtaposing Sachs’ work with Giacometti’s brings two architectural visions into coexistence, encouraging visitors to reflect on the need for inclusivity in architectural history and today’s practices. This intervention is not just physical but also temporal, connecting architectural legacies while engaging the visitor’s perceptions of continuity.’

The curators
The project team of the exhibition ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’ in their studio in Zurich (from left to right): Elena Chiavi, Amy Perkins, Myriam Uzor, Kathrin Füglister, Axelle Stiefel, Emma Kouassi. © Keystone/Gaëtan Bally

In their exhibition, the curators consider how Sachs’ vision might have influenced the design of the Swiss Pavilion today. They draw on Sachs’ approach to create a fragmented, immersive spatial memory that evokes both the aesthetic and ethical concerns of her era and their own. By reconstructing elements of Sachs’ radial floor plan and making it host to a sound system, the curators invite visitors to experience the open-ended process of a ‘resounding architecture’ that emerges when past and present voices converge.

Close-up of the model. © Keystone/Gaëtan Bally 
Close-up of the model. © Keystone/Gaëtan Bally 

With the incorporation of a site-specific sound installation, Elena Chiavi, Kathrin Füglister, Amy Perkins, Axelle Stiefel and Myriam Uzor transform the pavilion into a multi-sensory experience. Field recordings capturing conversations, interactions, landscapes, and on-site construction suggest the substance of liveliness, encouraging visitors to listen as they navigate the space. Sound becomes a tool of immersion and translation, unveiling hidden histories and allowing the audience to engage deeply and intimately with the built environment.

‘Through the sounds, memories, and stories embedded in the exhibition, the Swiss Pavilion transforms into a place of shared agency, cultivating a vision of architecture as a vessel for collective memory,’ they elaborate.

This auditory experience reveals a vibrant dimension of architecture and landscape, one that is felt and lived rather than solely observed, turning each listener into an active participant of the exhibition.

Field recordings during a Furka residency in summer 2024. © Keystone/Gaëtan Bally

19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

The Biennale Architettura 2025, titled ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective’ is curated by Carlo Ratti. In the Swiss Pavilion, the exhibition ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’ positions intelligent architecture as collaborative and inclusive. The curatorial team views architecture as an act of care and responsibility toward society and the environment. It actively confronts inequalities and expands the possibilities of spatial experiences.

The exhibition ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’ is curated by Axelle Stiefel, Elena Chiavi, Amy Perkins, Myriam Uzor and Kathrin Füglister (from left to right). © Keystone/Gaëtan Bally 
1  With their exhibition title ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’, the curators quote a note that the architect Lisbeth Sachs made on a plan for her ‘Kunsthalle’ at the Swiss Exhibition for Women’s Work (SAFFA) in Zurich in 1958. Lisbeth Sachs thus describes the approach of placing architecture in a direct connection to the conditions of the construction site and its surroundings. It translates to English as follows: ‘The final form will be defined by the architect on site.’ © gta Archive

The project team

Curators: Elena Chiavi, Kathrin Füglister, Amy Perkins, Axelle Stiefel, and Myriam Uzor

For their project ‘Endgültige Form wird von der Architektin am Bau bestimmt.’ Annexe – Elena Chiavi, Kathrin Füglister, Amy Perkins, and Myriam Uzor – is working with the embedded artist Axelle Stiefel. The wider team consists of Tobias Becker (Project Coordinator), Ella Eßlinger (Grant Writer), Emma Kouassi (Graphic Design), Octave Magescas (Sound Design), and Leopold Strobl (Architect).

Biographies of the curators

Elena Chiavi (Lausanne) is an architect with diverse experience in architecture, teaching, agroecology, scenography, and communication, focusing on collaborative and inclusive projects. She explores innovative, sustainable spatial design through workshops, conferences, and hands-on construction.

Kathrin Füglister (Zurich) is an architect specialising in renovations, conceptual spatial work, furniture design and the management of process-oriented, material and site-specific workshops in the building industry.

Amy Perkins (Zurich) is an architect working in design, education, writing, and editing. She is a long-term collaborator and founding member of Assemble Studio in London, with whom she runs a second-year design course at the EPF Lausanne.

Axelle Stiefel (Geneva) is an artist embedded in various organisations. Her line of research is a textile metaphorology that questions the notion of permanence. She engages in concept development, design and consultancy.

Myriam Uzor (Zurich) is an architect specialising in conversion projects and landscape design. Teaching at ETH Zurich, she conducts research on the choreographic dimensions of architecture, cities, and gardens. She believes in a bodily approach as the foundation of spatial experience.

Partners and sponsors

Thanks to the partners:

gta Archive, gta Verlag, e-flux Architecture, Rebiennale s.n.c., Falu Vapen Schweiz GmbH, Jakob Rope Systems (Fabian Graber, Jann Mathys), Kunstgiesserei St. Gallen AG, Neuco AG, Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure (Lorenz Kobel, Jan Stebler), Tweaklab AG (Kaspar Hochuli), Tisca Tischhauser AG (Daniela Seifert)

Sponsored by:

Swisslos-Fonds des Kanton Aargau, Canton de Genève, Ville de Genève, Kanton St. Gallen Kulturförderung Swisslos, Canton de Vaud, Finanzdepartement der Stadt Zürich, Ernst und Olga Gubler-Hablützel Stiftung, Fondation Sotto Voce, Ikea Stiftung Schweiz, Stiftung für Erforschung der Frauenarbeit, BSA, BSLA, Departement Architektur ETH Zürich, SIA, Laufen

Supported by:

Boltshauser Architekten AG, Jaeger Coneco AG, Müller Sigrist Architekten AG, Schmidlin Architekten,  Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure, Studio Trachsler Hoffmann

And special thanks to all the private donors and individuals who support the project.

The selection procedure and the jury

The selection was made in a two-stage process. First, a group of five national and international experts recommended suitable individuals and teams. They were invited by Pro Helvetia to submit a concept for the design of an exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion to the jury. In the second stage, nine project ideas were subsequently assessed by the jury in a two-step competition.

The jury consisted of Anna Heringer (Laufen/Germany), Barbara Holzer (Zurich/Switzerland), Torsten Lange (Lucerne/Switzerland), Charlotte Malterre-Barthes (Lausanne/Switzerland) and Evelyn Steiner (Zurich/Switzerland).

Supporting events

The exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion will be complemented by a side programme both in the Swiss Pavilion and at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi. Details will be communicated in the spring of 2025.

Curators
Elena Chiavi, Kathrin Füglister, Amy Perkins, Axelle Stiefel and Myriam Uzor        

Commissioner
Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia: Sandi Paucic, Rachele Giudici Legittimo

Exhibition dates
10 May – 23 November 2025

Pre-Opening
8 – 9 May 2025

Official opening
Thursday, 8 May 2025 at 2pm

Media moment
Friday, 9 May 2025 at 11.30am

Location
Swiss Pavilion, Giardini della Biennale di Venezia   

Website Annexe

Webpage Swiss Pavilion

To La Biennale’s accreditation forms

Media information

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

Ursula Pfander
+41 44 267 71 30 | upfander@prohelvetia.ch

International Media Relations: Pickles PR

Zeynep Seyhun
+39 349 003 4359 | zeynep@picklespr.com

Costanza Savelloni
+39 333 4955 666 | costanza@picklespr.com