The 6th biennale svizzera del territorio (Swiss Biennial of Territory) opens the doors of Villa Saroli in Lugano (CH), renewing its multidisciplinary approach.
The event is organised by the Istituto Internazionale di Architettura under the direction of architect Ludovica Molo, with an accompanying committee composed, for this edition, of Heike Biechteler, Marc Frochaux, Cyril Veillon and Ariane Widmer.

Since 2016, the biennale has fostered debate on architecture in relation to the social and economic transformations shaping contemporary society. This year as well, the Biennale brings together leading figures from the international scene – spanning design, urban planning and landscape architecture, economics and territorial culture.

The title of this new edition is "HANDLE WITH CARE": a timely invitation to reflect on the urgency of a responsible architecture centred on care – one that repairs, maintains and regenerates through attuned listening to places and to the pre-existing, and through community engagement. A complex alternative to the easier path of demolition and construction, hallmarks of an architecture that consumes territory and resources.

Installations and Symposium

Care as an act of resistance with the power to bring about tangible change – this is the challenge the Biennale has put to practitioners of all ages and from all over the world through a Call for Action. The result is 10 installations, some performative in nature, exhibited in the park of Villa Saroli, home of the Istituto Internazionale di Architettura. Consistent with the biennale's theme of dialogue between past and present, the installations engage in dialogue with the historic building, which blends eclectic style with Art Nouveau decoration. The works were selected by a prestigious international committee composed of David Barragán, Laura Brenni, Catherine Gay, Marc Frochaux, Khensani Jurczok-de Klerk, Adrien Meuwly, Anna Puigjaner and Xu Tiantian.

"The biennale, from its very first edition, has been a place of encounter and exchange, where values and knowledge interweave and are shared. Since 2022, with the introduction of the calls, it has also become a space for experimentation – a means of nourishing these encounters, amplifying the voices of young emerging practitioners and welcoming groups who arrive from elsewhere and allow themselves to be shaped by the creativity this place holds, living together for a few days and bringing the park, the villa and the surrounding territory to life. In a direct and intuitive way, this experience is capable of drawing civil society closer to the power of imagination,"  says Ludovica Molo.

The cornerstone of the biennale is the Symposium, which explores the theme from different and complementary perspectives – from debate on architecture itself to the political implications of territory, through to broader reflections on the concept of care. Alongside the traditional sessions, there is also room for more open yet theoretically rich forms of exchange, such as the promenade through various areas of Bellinzona: a symposium in motion, punctuated by talks and conversations en plein air.

Pecha Kucha presentations further enrich the Symposium – a dynamic format of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. These were selected by a second curatorial committee comprising Nina Bassoli, Heike Biechteler, Sophie Delhay, Débora Mesa Molina, John Palmesino and Sascha Roesler.

“The Pecha Kuchas represent the strength of free research – not necessarily academic – supporting those at the beginning of their journey in this world," underlines Ludovica Molo.

An open, diffused event

The program moves between Lugano, Mendrisio and Bellinzona, bringing the "Città Ticino" to life in keeping with the philosophy of the biennale svizzera del territorio.

Thursday 1 October opens with a conference at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio – an evening of debate within the architecture and design community dedicated to the values of political and civic responsibility in the discipline, addressing fundamental topics such as housing, reuse, and citizen participation. The event is conceived and built together with students from the student association.

Friday 2 October, organised in collaboration with the Canton Ticino Department of Territory and the City of Bellinzona, opens with an urban walk through the places that best represent the city's transformation – from industrial fringes to public spaces, from rewilding areas to new residential and school hubs. The walk ends at the Bellinzona Public Baths, designed by architect Aurelio Galfetti with Flora Ruchat-Roncati and Ivo Trümpy in the late 1960s, creating an ideal connection with the afternoon session: the Symposium will in fact take place at the Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IRB), his final work.

This day offers a reflection on the vocation of a distinctive territory: a bridge between northern and southern Europe, situated between the Lombardy metropolis and the rest of Switzerland, marked by complex dynamics and fragile balances. Two round tables invite participants to interrogate these conditions, imagine the territory's future vocation, and identify the tools with which to act in the present.

In the evening, the projects in the Villa Saroli park are officially inaugurated. The 10 selected installations are unveiled and will remain on view to the public until November 28.

"An added value of the Actions selected for this edition is the dialogue that forms between them: a conversation across different languages that moves through the park," observes Ludovica Molo.

Saturday 3 October, the Symposium moves to Lugano – between the Italian Consulate General and Villa Saroli – for a day dedicated to questions of care, with the participation of international speakers. Lectures, case studies, dialogues, and PechaKucha presentations alternate throughout the day, bringing national and international experiences and perspectives to bear on the theme. The evening concludes at Villa Saroli, where the installations are activated through performative moments, followed by an open convivial gathering in keeping with the participatory spirit that runs throughout the entire event.

Three intense days in which Villa Saroli becomes a site for experimentation, animated by ateliers, workshops, installations open from the very first day and further events spread across the territory – an opportunity to experience how looking after the territory also passes through the practices of encounter, exchange and the building of a collective dimension.

"This edition consolidates the formula of an architecture festival capable of making meaningful contributions to the territory – in terms of knowledge and stimulus – while at the same time opening itself to the most current international reflections," concludes Ludovica Molo.