EAST show at the Biennale Svizzera del Territorio

‘All roads lead to Rome’, so the proverb, but the path to reaching a goal is also defined by a set of decisions and choices between options. The exhibition Rather Than offers an insight into the research and working processes of Studio EAST – a design studio at the EPFL School of Architecture – by examining three built pavilions. Each pavilion is a hands-on pedagogical experiment where sustainable thinking, conventional wisdom and craftsmanship overlap. At EAST, learning is a continuous process that unfolds into a topological landscape of links and relations. Anchored in local dynamics, each project sets a specific frame of research with which to test tools and actions. Tackling reuse strategies inevitably involves questioning the way architecture operates. From tangible materials to theoretical knowledge, from education and professional practice to historical references, reuse is a culturally embedded verb capable of changing the current architectural mindset and having a meaningful impact on new ways of making.