Moteur Action Forme

Organized by historian Carlotta Darò and Prof Laurent Stalder, the first exhibition devoted to the work of the Bruther studio, winner of the Swiss Architecture Award 2020, brings together artifacts from the laboratory that Stéphanie Bru and Alexandre Theriot run at ETH Zurich, as well as from the office they share in Paris.

The Moteur Action Forme exhibition includes material samples, structural models, infrastructural devices, electrical and electromagnetic systems, furniture prototypes and small architectures, as well as a whole series of aborted experiments, failed manipulations and furtive discoveries, captured only on film.

These artifacts are not simply transferred from the laboratory to the museum. On the contrary, they are placed in relation to one another, independently of the specific original experience, to produce a more general reflection on the conditions of contemporary architecture. Indeed, Bruther's practice and research are characterized by a particular interest in the operative dimension of architecture, whether in terms of material resistance, structural efficiency, climatic standards, or - more prosaically - cost reduction. However, beyond a reductive technical, economic or administrative determinism, the material here is active, the structure informs, the program open to potential uses.

As a key to entry, the exhibition offers a thematic reading of each room (glass, membrane, structure, air, atmosphere), allowing us to observe several operating modes. This first key can be reread through dynamic associations (mechanical, pneumatic, electromagnetic movements), established across the gallery's longitudinal axes. These link the rooms together both visually and acoustically, creating a mise en abyme of associations to be discovered.