Tendenzen at 50

The 1975 exhibition Tendenzen – Neuere Architektur im Tessin at ETH Zurich marked a decisive moment in Swiss architecture. Curated by Martin Steinmann and designed by Thomas Boga, it introduced a younger generation of Ticino architects, including Luigi Snozzi, Aurelio Galfetti, Livio Vacchini, and Mario Botta, to a wider public. Fifty years later, Tendenzen at 50 returns to the original event. Drawing on extensive research by Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn, the current exhibition examines the original one from 1975 both as a cultural document and as a vehicle for disseminating architectural ideas in the analogue age of Xerox copies, letters, photographs, and slides. Tendenzen at 50 explores how these ideas circulated, how the exhibition shaped architectural discourse, and why certain curatorial decisions have remained relevant over decades. Archival materials are complemented by a large-scale model that reconstructs the original exhibition and by newly commissioned photographs by Stefano Graziani.

Opening: March 3, 2026, 6 p.m.