Swiss Pavilion at 2021 Architecture Biennale Explores Borders

The Swiss Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled 'oræ – Experiences on the Border', investigates life along Switzerland's borders through a participatory process. The project, led by a multidisciplinary team including architects Mounir Ayoub and Vanessa Lacaille, filmmaker Fabrice Aragno, and artist Pierre Szczepski, involved traveling to border regions in a truck-studio for seven months starting May 2019. Residents built scale models of their daily territories and guided the team through these areas. The pandemic added urgency, as borders became a global focus. The team returned to the border zones with a mobile forum for dialogue. The resulting exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion features models, videos, and words from the participants, who are considered the true authors. The project reframes borders not as barriers but as permeable spaces and beginnings of shared territories. The team believes borders are a laboratory for contemporary social and economic challenges.