Swiss Talks #2
Laurent Saurer
Federico De Molfetta
Michela De Poli
H18:00
Laurent Saurer
Federico De Molfetta
Michela De Poli
H18:00
The talk will be held in Italian and English at H18:00 in Venice and online.
Watch the video recording here.
Swiss Talks #2
LEARNING FROM WATER
Designing in Fragile Contexts
Laurent Saurer
Federico De MolfettaÂ
with
Michela De Poli
Moderation: Francesca Chiorino
Designing on water, using water as a design element, and protecting oneself from water are different approaches linked to a unifying, primordial element, which will serve as the common thread for interventions straddling architecture and landscape in fragile contexts in Switzerland—with projects by De Molfetta Strode and LOCALARCHITECTURE in the first part of the event—and in the Venetian lagoon, with the closing contribution by Michela De Poli.
Precious ecosystems to preserve, territories devoid of identity and history, and areas threatened by climatic and technological upheavals are the fragile environments explored in this discussion, focusing on the educational power of water—an element of leisure and play, and at the same time a precious source of life, to which we must acknowledge central importance in a fluid process of awareness and civic education.
Swiss Talks. Architecture VS Territory
Swiss Talks is a series of talks dedicated to the orientations of contemporary architecture in Switzerland, now in its eighth edition.
Three evenings during 2024 are aimed at investigating the intersections between architecture and territory: how can architecture bring out the identities of places? Can architecture affect communities perceptions of their home territories? Can public space be considered “educating”? Can a landscape architect contribute to strengthening the identity of place?
Architects and landscape architects working on spatial issues are involved to try to provide answers-necessarily not definitive- to these questions. To further reinforce the central theme, the city in which the meeting is held is not indifferent to the topic being addressed, but rather conditions its choices.
For this initiative, a request has been made to the CNAPPC for the recognition of 2 professional training credits for architects. Mandatory registration
A project by Istituto Svizzero and CasabellaFormazione
In collaboration with ProViaggi Architettura.
Thanks to Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council for their hospitality and USM Modular Furniture for their support.
Biographies
Laurent Saurer studied architecture at EPFL in Lausanne. After various professional experiences in the United States and Switzerland, he founded LOCALARCHITECTURE in 2004, an architecture studio with offices in Lausanne and Zurich. Recognized both nationally and internationally in publications and competitions, the studio questions the global approach through a deep understanding of the local context and has completed numerous private and public buildings. It recently completed La Maison de l’Ă®le aux oiseaux, an ornithology education center on Lake Geneva. The partners of the studio are actively involved in university teaching, juries, conferences, and are engaged in organizing cultural events and professional associations.
Federico De Molfetta and Hope Strode, architects, are the partners of the landscape architecture studio De Molfetta Strode, founded in 2013 and based in Lugano. Their work is characterized by an intrinsic attention to the site, an ecological approach to design, and the creation of immersive sensory environments. Federico De Molfetta is a landscape architect and architect with a Master in Design Studies in Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Master of Architecture from the Accademia di Architettura della Svizzera Italiana. Before founding De Molfetta Strode, he worked as a landscape architect in Lisbon and Berlin and as a gardener at the Lisbon Botanical Garden and the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. Hope Strode is an architect and landscape architect with a Master of Landscape Architecture with distinction from Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she received the Penny White Fellowship and the Peter Walker Traveling Fellowship. Before focusing on landscape architecture, she worked as an architect in Massachusetts and holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Alongside her practice, she is involved in teaching at Politecnico di Milano and the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio.
Michela De Poli, landscape architect, co-founder with Adriano Marangon of the landscape studio MADE based in Treviso, specialized in Landscape Planning and Design at Wageningen Agricultural University (NL). She teaches Urban Planning, Landscape, Urban Vision & Architectural Design at both Italian and international universities. MADE studio focuses on research, particularly regarding open spaces, abandoned places, ecologically sensitive and struggling areas, and uncertain spaces. The studio’s research topics involve multiple scales that affect the territory, with projects aimed at safeguarding and evolving large compromised areas.
Francesca Chiorino is the curator of Swiss Talks 2024, architect, and editor of Casabella.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi,
Campo S. Agnese, Dorsoduro 810
Venezia & Online
Free entrance, registration required
For press inquires, please contact: press@istitutosvizzero.it
©️ Samuele Cherubini
©️ Samuele Cherubini
©️ Samuele Cherubini
©️ Samuele Cherubini