HANDLE WITH CARE 1/2/3 OCTOBER
6TH BIENNALE SVIZZERA DEL TERRITORIO 2026
CALL FOR ACTION The 6TH biennale svizzera del territorio, organised by the Istituto Internazionale
d’Architettura in Lugano, is launching a call for action on the theme “handle with care”.
The call is open to professionals of all ages and from all over the world.
HANDLE WITH CARE Building, demolishing, building again… that is easy. But caring for things, making them
last, keeping them alive, repairing them. That is a difficult task. You have to observe,
listen, pay attention. Study, understand. Recognise what exists, even if it’s fragile, even
if it’s not perfect. You need allies. It’s a task for those who know from experience the
consequences of destruction, who know the price of maintenance, who know a thing
of beauty is a joy forever. If you can handle it, caring is power.
FORMAT Proposals can be of many kinds, ranging from installations, constructed or transformative
interventions, to performances, artistic works, or architectural visions. These are to be
related to the theme of the biennale: actions that evoke, and question the responsibility
of our professions and practices to observe, to maintain, and to act with care toward
our living environment. Actions will be implemented within the magnificent grounds
of Villa Saroli in Lugano or may extend beyond them, provided that city regulations
are respected. A city representative will support this aspect. The proposals must be
developed as physically reversible / their impact and contribution has the potential to
be long lasting.
SUBMISSIONS Please fill out and submit the registration form, which will be available online shortly at:
WITHIN FEBRUARY 9TH 2026 biennale.i2a.ch/form, attaching a brief description of the action you wish to exhibit,
an illustration or technical drawing, as well as the project title and a short presentation
of the team.Please also provide a detailed budget for implementing and setting up the
proposal. The maximum budget allocated to each action ranges between 5’000 and
Questions? Please contact: 7’000 CHF (depending on the number of selected proposals), including the honorary
[email protected] (other sources of funding resources may be proposed according to the project). To
facilitate the selection process, describe the project on four A3 pages, as follows:
PAGE 1 Title, team presentation
PAGE 2 Description (ca. 1’000 characters)
PAGE 3 Illustration or technical drawing
PAGE 4 Project’s feasibility (state of the project, budget, schedule, etc.)
AWARD Announcement of call winners will be sent within March 2026. All proposals will be
exhibited during the biennale, with the agreement of the authors. The selected teams
will have free accommodation and free access to all three days of the biennale. The
actions will be set up in the park of Villa Saroli till the end of November 2026.
SITE DOCUMENTATION biennale.i2a.ch/documentation
SELECTION COMMITTEE DAVID BARRAGÁN
In alphabetical order Architect founder of Al-Borde (Quito, Ecuador), visiting professor Arc-usi
LUIGI DI CORATO
Head of cultural division of the City of Lugano
CATHERINE GAY
Architect founder of GayMenzel (Monthey, Switzerland), visiting professor at the EPFL
MARC FROCHAUX
Editor-in-chief TRACÉS, advisory board’s member 6TH Biennale svizzera del territorio
KHENSANI JURCZOK-DE KLERK
Architect founder of Matri-Archi(tecture) (Johannesburg, South Africa/Zürich, Switzerland) and ETH Zürich doctoral
fellow gta
ADRIEN MEUWLY
Architect founder of Comte/Meuwly (Zürich-Geneva, Switzerland), professor of architecture and construction
ETH Zürich
ANNA PUIGJANER
Architect founder of MAIO (Barcelona, Spain), professor of architecture and care at the ETH Zürich
XU TIANTIAN
Architect founder of DnA Design and Architecture (Beijing, China), professor at Tsinghua University School
of Architecture
