Following a period of isolation at the start of the Lockdown, Adam Caruso met host Matthew Blunderfield online to discuss teaching at ETH Zurich, the work of Pierre Huyghe, and the series of monographs on lesser-known Modernist architects he co-edits with with his partner, Helen Thomas.
"[When we started our practice] we were really interested in the syntax of architecture - how you make a brick wall, how you make an opening - and we believed that the syntax of architecture held within it the culture of architecture. And the reason we concentrated on that rather than the semiotics of architecture is that we didn’t believe so much in a shared language [for architecture to speak symbolically]. We live in a society that’s diverse and globalised, and I’m trying to find positive ways of engaging with those things”
Image: Pierre Huyghe After ALife Ahead Skulptur Projekte Münster, 2017
© flickr / stephane333
Related news
Peter St John will give a lecture entitled, Transformation and Resources, at the University of Nottingham's Department of Architecture and Built Environment, on the 21st of February. The talk will explore the recent work of the office that focuses on the transformation of existing buildings.
Peter St John talks galleries, ice hockey and awards with Hugh Pearman, editor of the RIBA Journal
Book launch & talk, Zurich
Collected Works: Volume 3, 2010-2020
Adam Caruso & Salim Umar
Hochparterre Bücher, Zurich
19:00 CET 20th March 2026
Adam Caruso will be in conversation with Salim Umar to celebrate the release of Collected Works: Volume 3 2010–2020. Free to attend.
Royal Belge has been shortlisted for the RIBA International Awards. Selecting projects from five continents, the award recognizes a broad range of designs addressing global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, social equity, and rapid urbanization.
Our Royal Belge project is praised for its adaptive reuse strategies, extending the life of a modernist icon. The jury will visit the projects in the coming month.
Book launch & talk, London
Collected Works: Volume 3, 2010-2020
Adam Caruso, Peter St John & Owen Hatherley
ICA, London
18:30 26th March 2026
Adam Caruso and Peter St John will be in conversation with Owen Hatherley at the ICA in London, to celebrate the release of the book Collected Works: Volume 3 2010–2020, published by MACK Books. Tickets available through the ICA website.
Book launch & talk, Berlin
Collected Works: Volume 3, 2010-2020
Thomas Demand & Adam Caruso
Buchhandlung Walther König, Berlin
19:00 CET 10th April 2026
Adam Caruso will be in conversation with artist Thomas Demand at the Buchhandlung Walther König an der Museumsinsel in Berlin, to celebrate the release of Collected Works: Volume 3 2010–2020. Free to attend.
Phase 2 of our Masterplan for Hospitafields Arts, the Studios, have been shortlisted for the RIAS Awards in Scotland. This phase focuses on the more private areas of the site, creating studios and workshops with excellent access. Centred on the Rear Yard, this phase includes the renovation of the 1901 studios, conservation of the 1845 Patrick Allan-Fraser Studio, refurbishment of the Drawing School, and construction of a new studio building.
Royale Belge has won the Contemporary Heritage Award at the third edition of the Brussels Architecture Prizes. The prizes celebrate contributions to the spatial quality of Brussels.
Opia is celebrating the opening of a second store in Zurich. Caruso St John designed the fit-out of the new store at Sihlstrasse 20. The design centers on a spatial element that integrates lighting and display systems, while also helping to organize the space and bringing colour and texture.
The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Transportation has awarded the project for the refurbishment of the Neue Pinakothek with a BIM-Prize in the category ‘Existing Buildings’.
Anniversary
Celebrating 25 Years of The New Art Gallery Walsall
Guided tour and talk
Walsall, United Kingdom
22nd October 2025
Opened in 2000, the New Art Gallery Walsall has become an important cultural venue for the region. Designed by Caruso St John Architects, the building is recognised for its distinctive design and as the home of the renowned Garman Ryan Collection.
The Foundation for the Recognition of Good Buildings in the Canton of Zurich has awarded the Swiss Life Arena the 2025 Audience Award for exemplary buildings in the canton.