Adam Caruso contributes an article to the October Issue of Domus, outlining how on the failure of architecture to address the imbalances of contemporary life has motivated him to look again, in practice and with students at the ETH, at the ideological and programmatic promises of modernism.
The article includes work by students from Studio Adam Caruso at ETH Zurich.
Main image:
Network = Networth
by Milena Buchwalder, Samira Lenzin, Meghan Rolvien and Edoardo Signori. A series of hypothetical gifts that might have been exchanged in the process of developing the Maag Areal in Zurich, a research project undertaken in the mode of Taryn Simon.
Images below, from left to right:
The Worth of Things: Catalogue of Spatial Elements
by Juan Barcia Mas and Xenia Strohmeyer. A series of re-made interiors in Zurich’s Toni Areal, drawing on a catalogue of spatial elements, found objects and past stories that bring back the vibes and uses of the legendary Toni Molkerei and other lost bohemian haunts of Zurich’s golden age of squatting
Donna Haraway: Staying with the Trouble
by Frederik Möst, Luca Riggio, Xenia Strohmeyer and Meret Heeb. A critical reading/performance of Donna Haraway’s seminal text narrating a possible future where plants,animals and humans strike a balance on our shared Earth. The author describes a difficult world called the Chthulucene which requires sympoiesis or making-with. During the reading, the students become hybrid beings mixed with the butterflies with which they share their land
Archiactor—The act of architecture
by Toja Coray, Leo Graf, Daria Ryffel and Anina Schmid. A live and recorded performance in the mode of Andrea Fraser presenting a rigorous and often hilarious critique of institutional failure in the project to convert the Toni Areal in Zurich into a home for the art school. The entire text comes from on-site interviews, studio discussions and term documents
The Whole Maag Catalogue
by Livia Cerfeda and Natalie Klak. A catalogue of the buildings, possessions and inhabitants of the Maag Areal in Zurich, turning what was meant to be private into something collective and giving everyone more space so that they can do more
Related news
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.
The St Pancras Campus in Camden is being opened up to the public as part of this year’s Open House Festival. Guided tours will take place on Saturday the 12th of September between 10am and 5pm.
Award
Architecture Book of the Year
Caruso St John, Collected Works, Volume 2
London, United Kingdom
10th December 2024
The second volume of Caruso st John's Collected Works has received a commendation in the 2024 Architecture Book of the Year awards. Read the judges' report below.
Studio Caruso at ETH Zurich has designed the latest exhibition for gta exhibitions, the first comprehensive retrospective of OMARA Mara Oláh to be staged in Switzerland.
A feature-length documentary on the history and renovation of the Royale Belge building will be premiered in the building's auditorium.
The ZSC Lions have been crowned champions of the Swiss National Hockey League after defeating rivals Lausanne HC in front of a home crowd at the Swiss Life Arena.
Caruso St John have previously collaborated with the artist Rachel Whiteread, together with Marcus Taylor, on proposals for the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Park Gardens.
Recently, Rachel Whiteread made a cast in concrete of the steel staircase designed by the practice at the Gagosian Gallery, Kings Cross. The gallery in Kings Cross opened in 2004, and closed last year after moving to Mayfair.
Royale Belge has won plaudits at the annual MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes. The project was shortlisted in two categories at the MIPIM Awards, Best Conversion and Best Mixed-use, and triumphed in both.