Switzerland trip

DATE

09.06.2026

The MArch Advanced students’ trip to Switzerland has been an intensive immersion in contemporary architecture in the country. Over four days, the students explored works by international references that stand out for their innovation, technique, and dialogue with the natural and urban landscape.

The first day began in Zurich with a tour of the exterior of the Landesmuseum of Christ & Gantenbein and the Tanzhaus of Barozzi Veiga. After lunch, the tour focused on visual culture and design with a visit to the buildings of the Museum für Gestaltung (both in the Toni-Areal and the Ausstellungsstrasse), concluding the afternoon with a walk through the city’s historic center.

The second day took the students to Chur to explore Peter Zumthor’s sensitivity to materials in his refuge for the Roman ruins, followed by a visit to the Bündner Kunstmuseum by the Barozzi Veiga studio. The journey then continued through the Grisons Canton to Vals, where they analyzed the use of natural stone in the Haus Balma office and residential building by Kengo Kuma before concluding the day with a sensory and meditative experience within the alpine atmosphere of Zumthor’s famous Vals Thermal Baths.

The third day was dedicated entirely to Lausanne, starting with the monumentality of the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts (MCBA) by Barozzi Veiga and the exhibition complex of MUDAC and Photo Elysée by Aires Mateus, both in the area of Platform 10, which is being redeveloped to transform a degraded area in front of the train station. In the afternoon, the students traveled to the EPFL campus to visit the Rolex Learning Center by SANAA, a key project for its innovative free-form layout, fluid spatial flow, and subtle topographical variations.

The last day of returning to Zurich was spent analyzing two major interventions in established environments: the spectacular interior remodel of the Santiago Calatrava Law Faculty Library and the expansion of the Kunsthaus Zürich by David Chipperfield. After lunch, the group visited the iconic Stadelhofen station designed by Santiago Calatrava in 1990 and the Le Corbusier Pavilion, the Swiss master’s final work dedicated to color and light. This way, the students concluded a complete educational experience that has expanded their technical design criteria, project management skills, and construction sensitivity from the conceptual stages.