SWISS ARCHITECTURE

In a Swiss village just beyond the picturesque city of St. Gallen, Kit Architects has reinterpreted local vernacular with Tower House: a family home for four built from prefabricated timber and assembled onsite in just three days. The architects explain that the three-storey home demonstrates "how industrialised construction can enable resource-conscious and high-performance residential architecture." The result, contemporary in form and environmentally conscious in construction, sits in perfect harmony with the surrounding built landscape. Till Forrer     Till Forrer ❌︎ Remove Applied Products block will be inserted here     Location  The building is located on a triangular site at... More

Roots constitutes a critical exercise aimed at understanding how a universal language—one inspired by a specific place—can adapt to other contexts, balancing similarities and divergences with them. The place determines a large part of a project’s identity. Although globalization has made us more homogeneous, aligning us with consumerist and spiritually hollow lifestyles, this frenetic world has also divided us and left us alone. Davide Macullo Architects SA Davide Macullo Architects SA Davide Macullo Architects SA The closure of cities has generated small, individualistic clusters of dwellings that do not communicate with the outside—nor with the soul of those who inhabit them. Buildings that withdra... More

543 HORTUS is the latest sustainable building at Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area in Allschwil, Switzerland. This life sciences campus brings together research, start-ups, and established companies in a growing hub of low-carbon architecture. Designed by Swiss architectural studio Herzog & de Meuron for the real estate developer SENN, 543 HORTUS was conceived as a model of circular and energy-positive design. The brief called for minimising grey energy in construction, maximising efficiency in operation, and generating a surplus of renewable power. Over its lifetime, the 14,100-square-metre building will offset its embodied energy within 31 years, while accommodating around 600 workplaces. 543 HORTUS represents a new standard for... More

A new landmark neighbourhood is emerging in Tirana, shaped by the city’s ambitious vision for a longitudinal park—a Mediterranean Park that acts as both a meeting place and a gateway to the city. Tirana’s Mediterranean climate and culture are values to be honoured and elevated in this project. The masterplan imposes clear constraints—defining density, height, and urban footprint—yet within these limits lies an opportunity. Rather than being confined by these parameters, the architecture uses them to its advantage, creating a structure that is both rational and poetic, efficient yet unexpected. It is a habitat, a place of life, where the built form does not overpower but harmonises with the rhythms of the enviro... More

A building transforms into a place when it embodies its character, interprets its soul, and is conceived in harmony with the spirit of its surroundings. Valona is the south—the sea, the hills, the sun, and the brilliance of light—imbued with a serene, refreshing atmosphere. These elements, deeply embedded in the collective imagination, shape a sense of belonging to a place that is quintessentially Mediterranean. Davide Macullo Architects SA - Lugano, Switzerland The design echoes the intimate scale of the historic urban fabric, where low-rise settlements define the character of the city. The lower portion of the building respects this context, gradually rising with alternating vertical elements that filter light and views... More

It is a privilege to be here, in this remarkable corner of the world, above Tirana, where the hills unfold like a natural amphitheatre, embracing the city in its splendour as a laboratory of architecture. From a distance, the landscape captivates—soft and undulating, a vision of beauty shaped over millennia. This place is a Mediterranean oasis, where the movement of the earth itself is felt, a reminder of the forces that have sculpted such an extraordinary setting. Davide Macullo Architects SA - Lugano, Switzerland To build here is to ask not just why, but how—to approach this landscape with respect, ensuring that architecture becomes a natural extension of the land rather than an imposition upon it. The design begins with... More

"Boulimie" was originally the title of the official cabaret show at the 1964 Swiss National Exhibition. It later gave its name to the venue where it was created. The venue became a permanent fixture on the Lausanne scene, and from 1965 onwards offered a program that gave pride of place to humor in all its forms. It thus became a theatre, and its productions gradually toured Switzerland and the French-speaking world. © Dylan Perrenoud / LOCALARCHITECTURE First transformation In 1970, the troupe led by Martine Jeanneret and Lova Golovtchiner converted the former popular restaurant on Place Arlaud, a stone's throw from La Riponne, into a 150-seat theatre. A small stage that will feature the leading Swiss and foreign comedians of ev... More