Tendenzen at 50:
Portrait of an Exhibition
Wednesday, 4 March to Friday, 8 May 2026
gta exhibitions, ETH Zurich, Hönggerberg
Opening: Tuesday, 3 March 2026, 6–8 pm
6.30–7 pm: Honey, I shrunk Tendenzen! Scales of an Exhibition. Curators Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn in conversation with architects Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein, Alessandro Pasero and photographer Stefano Graziani
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday: 12–2 pm, 4–6 pm
Special events
25 March, 6–8 pm: Communicating Architecture: A Roundtable on Mediatization
15 April, 6–8 pm: Preserving Culture: A Roundtable on Heritage and the Archive
21 April, 12.30–2 pm: Architecture and Photography: Lunchtime talk by Stefano Graziani
5 May, 6–8pm: Finissage: The Catalogue as Paper Apparatus
The 1975 exhibition Tendenzen – Neuere Architektur im Tessin at ETH Zurich marked a decisive moment in Swiss architecture. Curated by Martin Steinmann and designed by Thomas Boga, it introduced a younger generation of Ticino architects, including Flora Ruchat-Roncati, Luigi Snozzi, Aurelio Galfetti, Livio Vacchini, and Mario Botta, to a wider public. In addition, it drew attention to a regional architectural culture based on material precision and conceptual autonomy. The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue quickly became reference points in contemporary architectural discourse and gained international attention: journals such as Oppositions, A+U, and L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui devoted special issues to Ticino architecture.
Fifty years later, Tendenzen at 50 returns to the original event. Drawing on extensive research by Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn, the current exhibition examines the original one from 1975 both as a cultural document and as a vehicle for disseminating architectural ideas in the analogue age of Xerox copies, letters, photographs, and slides. Tendenzen at 50 explores how these ideas circulated, how the exhibition shaped architectural discourse, and why certain curatorial decisions have remained relevant over decades. Previously unpublished manuscripts, working notes, correspondence, layout studies, and architectural drawings offer insight into the curatorial process and the international reach of the historic exhibition. These archival materials are complemented by a large-scale model that reconstructs the original exhibition and by newly commissioned photographs by Stefano Graziani.
Curated by Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn. A collaboration between gta exhibitions and gta Archive. Model by Studio Christ & Gantenbein.
Outside visiting hours, the exhibition can also be visited by agreement with, and within availability of, the gta Archive. Contact by email frida.grahn@gta.arch.ethz.ch, irina.davidovici@gta.arch.ethz.ch or in person gta Archive, HIL C 65.
Exhibition sponsors:
Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Vitra Design Stiftung
Coop Sponsoring
Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim Stiftung
Walter und Ambrosina Oertli Stiftung
BSA ZAGG
FAS Ticino
Birkhäuser
Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich
Thomas & Doris Ammann Foundation
Partners:
Archivio del Moderno, Accademia di architettura, USI
Fondazione Archivi Architetti Ticinesi
Mario Botta Architetti
Archivio Durisch
Biblioteca dell'Accademia di architettura
Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
Private catalogue loan givers
Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein, and Alessandro Pasero
Werk, Bauen + Wohnen
