Dichtelust

Installation, Swiss Architecture Museum (SAM), Basel, 2019

Developed with support from the Basel City Cantonal Department of Construction and Transport.  

In Switzerland, the concept of density has noticeably negative connotations. In Swiss political debates on urban development and land-use planning, density is often used as a discursive weapon, conjuring up terrible visions of "built up" cities and horrific scenarios with high-rise buildings "overrunning" the evolved city centres. This negative image has to be corrected. The exhibition will demonstrate what density actually means, namely sensible utilisation of buildable territory. One of the central questions is that of how density specifically materialises in the city. This is because density does not automatically mean building "upwards" but, first and foremost, compactly. Used properly, density is also the best means of preventing proximity stress.