"Salon Suisse": Wake up! A path towards better architecture

The opening ceremony of the Salon Suisse 2016, Marianne Burki, Head of Visual Arts Pro Helvetia, Sandi Paucic, Project Leader Swiss participation Venice Biennale, Leïla El-Wakil, Salonière

Leïla el-Wakil’s concept for the «Salon Suisse» will evolve around the question of how contemporary architecture can help bridging the expanding wealth gap between the rich and poor through the means of reflecting on fundamental ideas such “tradition as modernity”, “small is beautiful” and “reuse”, and how it can participate in creating adapted guidelines for architecture in the 21st century. Hence the clear link to Alejandro Aravena’s vision for this year’s Biennial, which is to focus on the "battles to be won" to improve quality of life within the built environment.

The «Salon Suisse» will offer a space for reflection on common sense in architecture, on a kind of Existenzminimum for all, at a time marked by the greediness of some. Swiss and foreign architects, researchers, and crafts(wo)men will be invited to share their knowledge and experience on the theme of architecture for all.