Under the Radar

Of Superbugs and Secret Zones
lectures by Keller Easterling and Xenia Vytuleva
followed by a discussion moderated by Andreas Ruby, Director S AM
Ackermannshof, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 21, Basel, Switzerland
November 28, 2019, 7pm

Urban space, sound, silence: 3 × 4′33″
lunchtime concert with percussionists Fabio Da Silva, Mikołaj Rytowski, Zacarias Maia and Pedro Tavares
Offene Kirche Elisabethen, Elisabethenstrasse 14, Basel, Switzerland
February 5, 2020, 12:15-12:45pm

Handbook of Tyranny
lecture by Theo Deutinger followed by a conversation with Finn Canonica, editor-in-chief of Das Magazin
Ackermannshof, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 21, Basel, Switzerland
February 13, 2020, 7pm

Sessions on Territory
short lectures and a conversation with Theo Deutinger, Andreas Kofler, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Milica Topalovic, Andreas Ruby
ONA Focushalle E7, Neunbrunnenstrasse 50, Zurich, Switzerland
February 24, 2020, 4pm

Exhibition
Architecture is usually thought of as synonymous with building, and this notion strongly informs both how architects perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others. Yet much of the work of architecture takes place before and after the actual act of construction—as architects probe the conditions governing the territories in which they are intervening, as they observe, search, ask questions and venture into realms beyond that of the construction site.

In a process similar to that of investigative journalism, they collect pieces of evidence, analyse them and synthesise them into a coherent narrative. Through these investigations, simulations and predictions, architects also reveal the mechanisms that tend to remain in the background: they use their spatial analyses to visualise the exploitation, management and control of their respective territories, thereby making apparent certain conditions that otherwise would remain under the radar. In this way, architecture becomes a form of political activism.

This exhibition presents an international overview of significant research projects dealing with this investigative form of architecture, focusing on their methods, content and conclusions. The studies render global themes such as borders, legal norms and conflicts visible on a local scale, thus contributing to spatial literacy. Ultimately, the exhibition hints at an expanded understanding of architecture, one which sees the design of spaces as inextricable from a scientific and artistic practice involving analysis, design and interpretation of territory.

Featured projects 
“Handbook of Tyranny” by Theo Deutinger (Austria), “The Murder of Halit Yozgat” and other investigations by Forensic Architecture (UK), “Italian Limes” by Studio Folder (Italy), “Smuggling Architecture” by Kwong Von Glinow (USA), “Swiss Lessons” by EPF Lausanne’s Laboratoire Bâle (Switzerland), “Sand and Labour” by Architecture of Territory at ETH Zurich (Switzerland), “Parallel Sprawl” by Kunik de Morsier (Switzerland) and “Meteorological Architecture” by Philippe Rahm (France).

This exhibition is curated by Andreas Kofler and Andreas Ruby.

Under the Radar is made possible with the generous support of the Sulger-Stiftung and the Hans und Renée Müller-Meylan Stiftung.

Further information