rebuild: figures of space

The Villa Savoye near Paris (Le Corbusier, 1931), the Maison Bordeaux (Rem Koolhaas, 1998), the Umbrella House in Tokyo (Kazuo Shinohara, 1961), and the Casa Malaparte on Capri (Adalberto Libera, 1943): In this year’s summer exhibition at aut, over sixty models of single-family homes from different eras and contexts come together. On display are icons of 20th- and 21st-century architectural history as well as lesser-known works and anonymous buildings. What unites them all is their exemplary significance—in terms of form, in their spatial organization, in their relevance to a specific location, or as exemplary responses to fundamental questions of living.

It is precisely for these reasons that these single-family homes have been analyzed over the past fifteen years by students in the Walter Angonese Studio at the USI – Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio. Based on extensive source research, the floor plans and sections of the houses are redrawn and translated into precise white models on a scale of 1:20 or 1:33. The rich body of architectural history is thus utilized in the teaching context to make architecture, as a constructive and spatial discipline, directly tangible.

Since 2011, a collection of over 150 models has been created at the Atelier Walter Angonese, from which approximately sixty were selected for the exhibition “Rebuild: Figures of Space.” The models are presented in groups that are organized independently of authorship, context, or region, thereby revealing connections, overlaps, and mutual references across time and geography. Conceived by the Walter Angonese Studio, the exhibition thus invites visitors not only to engage with spatial concepts from the history of architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries, but also to practice comparative viewing.

Opening: May, 25, 2026, 7 p.m.