For the first time ever, a Swiss pavilion was awarded the Golden Lion at the 16th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale exhibition. Responsible for the "Best National Contribution" is a young team of ETH architects consisting of Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara. They were supported by Alexander Lehnerer, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, who had already been responsible for the German Pavilion in 2014.

“We are extremely excited to receive this Golden Lion for our exhibition at the Swiss Pavilion ”, the team comments on their success. “Svizzera 240: House Tour” is about looking at empty flats. We want to take the visitors on a house tour, which offers you an exaggerated architectural sensibility through which you see the peculiarities of your own home from the perspective of an outsider. We very much hope that this opens up new ways of reflecting on the role the apartments’ interior shell plays in shaping our lives and our identities.”

In the press release by the Pro Helvetia Cultural Foundation, Federal President Alain Berset praises the winning team: "This is an extraordinary success for the young team of architects and underlines the top class of Swiss architecture".

Alessandro Bosshard and Matthew van der Ploeg offered insights into their project ‘Svizzera 240: House Tour’ in a recent interview with ETH News .

Further award winners

In addition to the young team from "Svizzera 240: House Tour", the following participating architects from ETH Zurich also received awards at the Architecture Biennale.

Silver Lion for a promising young participant to Professor Jan de Vylder, ETH (Jan de Vylder, Inge Vinck, Jo Taillieu, Ghent)

Special Mention for National Participation for "Island" (Pavilion Great Britain) by Professor Adam Caruso, ETH (Caruso St John Architects, London) and Marcus Taylor.