AAA Experiments

AAA Experiments is an experimental exhibition developed in collaboration with students, researchers and professors of ETH Zurich, and curated by Daniel Baumann, director Kunsthalle Zürich, and Adrian Notz, freelance curator and former curator of the AI+Art programme at the ETH Zurich. ETH Professor Catherine De Wolf and her students have built the “Mehrwerk” seating element from reused building elements that will be used by audiences for talks and seminars starting on October 7. During the course of the exhibition, additional projects and small exhibitions, developed by the students, will be added. 

AAA Experiments is a real and imaginary building and an alternative academy where art and science meet, and where students, professors and visitors develop content. It is a testing ground beyond expectations, a place for success and for failure, and a platform that must find and adapt its form and purpose. Form will indeed be key, as it performs and defines our relationship to the world, and our everyday lives. In the words of visionary architect Yona Friedman: “act without planning” and “intelligence starts with improvisation”.

AAA Experiments is open to all, and the results are not predictable. We ask our visitors to be open minded, curious and generous—you may be bored, enchanted and inspired. 

AAA Experiments is made up of four chapters:

“Mehrwerk”
The “Mehrwerk” is designed and built by Prof. Catherine De Wolf together with her researchers, students and Kunsthalle Zürich technicians using material from the former Huber Pavilion on the ETH’s Hönggerberg campus. The first iteration of Mehrwerk was presented during the season opening on September 27. Students completed the design during the following days so that the pavilion is fully functional when the educational programme starts.

Seminars
Weekly seminars, courses and workshops will be held in the exhibition:

Tuesdays 2:30–6pm, Prof Catherine De Wolf (Circular Engineering for Architecture, D-BAUG), Digital Creativity for Circular Construction

Wednesdays 10am–1pm, Prof Philip Ursprung (History and Theory of Architecture, D-ARCH), Fachsemester “Peace Out”

Wednesdays 4–7pm Tiziano Derme (Chair of Prof Benjamin Dillenburger, Digital Building Technologies (dbt), D-ARCH), Unterdecken-BIO: Mycelium as building system, between design iterations and living mockups.

Thursdays 11am–1pm, Adrian Christopher Notz (Mentor Prof Dr. Roger Wattenhofer, Distributed Computing Group, D_ITET), Creative Thinking Seminar

Thursdays 1-3pm, Daniel Baumann (Mentor Prof Philip Ursprung, History and Theory of Architecture, D-ARCH), The School of (Sub)Curating

Public talks
Public talks take place on Thursdays between October 10 and December 19, 2024. These talks start at 7pm; entry is free.

October 10: Eleni Chatzi (Structural Mechanics and Monitoring) and Janiv Oron (artist).

October 17: Inge Herrmann (Nanoparticles Systems Engineering Lab, D-MAVT) and Liat Grayver (artist).

October 24: Alexander Mordvintsev (developer and artist), Haro Combusyan (collector and social entrepreneur) and Yariv Adan (developer and investor).

October 31: Ruth Erdt (artist) and André Bideau (Head MAS GTA, D-ARCH).

November 7: Rosa Barba (artist) and Philip Ursprung (History and Theory of Architecture, D-ARCH).

November 16: Engadin Art Talks x Kunsthalle Zürich with Eleni Chatzi (Structural Mechanics and Monitoring), Günther Vogt (landscape architect) and Pamela Rosenkranz (artist).

November 21: Emily Cross (Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, D-GESS) and Manuel Hendry (filmmaker).

November 28: Catherine De Wolf (Circular Engineering for Architecture, D-BAUG) and Vanessa Schwarzkopf (Circular Engineering for Architecture, D-BAUG).

November 29/30: Futurological Congress by We are AIA, Martina Huber, Mareike Dittmer et al.

December 5: Bob Sumner (ETH Game Technology Center) and Fabio Zünd (ETH Game Technology Center)

December 12: Benjamin Dillenburger (Digital Building Technologies (dbt), D-ARCH) and Tiziano Derme (researcher and artist).

December 19: Vernissage School of (Sub)Curating. Party.

Exhibition
AAA Experiments will also be an evolving exhibition of exhibitions, as the talks and seminars will produce artifacts, displays and micro-exhibitions developing over the course of the exhibition. 

Our online agenda provides the most up to date information about public talks on Thursday evenings, as well as different seminars and events at Kunsthalle Zürich.