29.11.2025 - 19.04.2026

Wohnen fürs Wohnen: Swiss Housing Cooperatives as a Laboratory for Coexistence

Opening: 28/11/2025, 7 PM

A cooperation between S AM and the Association of Housing Cooperatives Northwestern Switzerland.

Basel was one of the early centers of cooperative housing in Switzerland. Projects such as the Freidorf in Muttenz and the housing estates by Hans Bernoulli remain landmark examples from the interwar period. Later developments, like the Entenweid high-rise apartments and the Vogelbach estate in Riehen, also introduced important architectural and social innovations. Yet despite this legacy, cooperative housing plays only a minor role in the public perception of Basel. This exhibition at S AM sheds light on this often-overlooked history and expands the focus to the entire region of Northwestern Switzerland — marking the 100th anniversary of the Association of Housing Cooperatives Northwestern Switzerland. The exhibition also highlights how cooperative models continue to offer innovative responses to today’s housing challenges, such as in the new developments Erlenmatt Ost, Lysbüchel Süd, Westfeld and other projects from across Switzerland.

Curation: Anaïs Auprêtre de Lagenest, Andreas Ruby
Scenography: Anaïs Auprêtre de Lagenest

Publication: S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum, Anaïs Auprêtre de Lagenest, Andreas Ruby (Hg. / Eds.): Wohnen fürs Wohnen.
Christoph Merian Verlag, ISBN 978-3-03969-051-0, 248 Seiten


Cooperative housing advice:
During the exhibition, representatives of regional housing cooperatives and non-profit housing developers will be offering free cooperative housing advice. The experts will be taking turns to set up their office directly in the exhibition and will be available for personal consultations. For up-to-date information on the presence of the individual cooperatives in the museum, click: here

Picture:  © Barbara Bühler

Exhibition flyer: here
Press material: here

The exhibition ‘Wohnen fürs Wohnen: Swiss Housing Cooperatives as a Laboratory for Coexistence’ is supported by:

Cooperation Partner:
Wohnbaugenossenschaften Nordwestschweiz

Program Partners:
Stiftung Edith Maryon
Stiftung Habitat
Kantons- und Stadtentwicklung Kanton Basel-Stadt

Supporters:
Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz
GGG Basel
Designbutik

Supporters Installation Hallenwohnen:
Verein züdwollke_HallenWohnKultur_zollhaus
Enzmann Fischer Partner AG
ffbk Architekten AG
HKP Bauingenieure AG
Stadtentwicklung Zürich
Genossenschaft Kalkbreite
Blättler Holzbau GmbH
Kästli & Co. AG
G. BAUMGARTNER AG
Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure
VRENT.CH

SAM Supporters:
Kanton Basel-Stadt
Bundesamt für Kultur BAK
Christoph Merian Stiftung
Beisheim Stiftung
Sulger-Stiftung

S AM Sponsors:
ComputerWorks AG
Marti AG Basel
HIAG

S AM Partners:
Dr. Levante GmbH & Co.KG
Karl Bubenhofer AG
Gremper AG

Upcoming exhibitions

19.09.2026 - 03.01.2027

Tony Fretton: Practice

Opening: 18/9/2026, 7 PM

The S AM Swiss Architecture Museum is proud to announce PRACTICE, a retrospective exhibition of selected projects of architect Tony Fretton (b. 1945, London). He established Tony Fretton Architects in London in 1984, which ran until 2024. His published texts on architecture are numerous, and he has taught extensively, including as Chair of Interiors Buildings and Cities at the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft, and as guest professor at GSD Harvard, ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne. He lives and works in London.

Fretton’s buildings and projects are presented at S AM through texts, photographs and drawings. Together, they show Fretton’s practice as continuity of reflection on the existing environment, including the social, cultural and political dimensions of the city and what lies outside it.