Architecture Talks: Cooperative Housing in Switzerland and Italy

Cooperative housing has garnered new attention following the recent housing crisis and global financialisation of urban space. Created at the end of the 19th century by socialist and feminist reformers to achieve resource efficiency and balance out the division of labour between genders within the household, this model has really taken off in Switzerland in the 1980s, especially in the German-speaking part of the country. Since then, its significance has not gone unnoticed among academics. Major research institutions have been (or are) carrying out large projects on this multifaceted phenomenon. For instance, the History of Architecture MAS programme of ETH Zurich is currently examining Swiss cooperative housing in terms of its relation to land politics and economics. But what about cooperative housing in Italy? How has this model developed in the country? And can Swiss know-how and examples inspire a renaissance of Italian cooperative housing? Drawing on their research and design experience, five speakers will discuss the history, development, and future prospects of this housing model on both sides of the Alps.