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
Book launch & talk, London
Collected Works: Volume 3, 2010-2020
Adam Caruso, Peter St John & Owen Hatherley
ICA, London (sold out)
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 for the event are now sold out.
Exhibition and event
Tendenzen at 50
Panel Discussion at ETH Zurich
gta exhibitions, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
25.03.2026
Fifty years after the landmark 1975 Tendenzen exhibition at ETH Zurich - which first brought the Ticino architectural movement to international attention - Tendenzen at 50 revisits the original event through archival research, unpublished materials, and new photography to examine how it shaped architectural discourse and why it remains relevant today.
As part of the exhibition's public events programme, a panel discussion will take place on Wednesday 25 March at ETH Zurich. Adam Caruso will join Linda Schädler, Adam Szymczyk, and Roland Züger for a conversation moderated by Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.