The work of the Ticino architects first captured international attention in 1975 on the occasion of the Zurich exhibition “Tendenzen – Neuere Architektur in Tessin” (Tendencies – New Architecture in Ticino) and it did so virtually overnight. The leading figures of the Ticino School became aware of the destruction being wrought upon the natural landscape by the unbridled construction boom as early as the 1960s. Aurelio Galfetti, Luigi Snozzi, and Livio Vacchini—soon joined by Mario Botta and Ivano Gianola—set a striking example with hard concrete structures. While they could only aestheticize overdevelopment, not slow it down, their highly varied production established a highly noted brand of architectural regionalism whose impact is still being felt today. The volume Tendencies – Recent Architecture in Ticino brings together the works of the Ticino School. With the publication of this reprint, this unique historical document, which has a permanent place in the teaching of design, is once again available.

Tendenzen at 50: Portrait of an Exhibition re-examines the 1975 exhibition both as a cultural document and as a device for distribution for architectural ideas, whose circulation unfolded in the analogue era of Xerox reproductions, letters, and slides. It explores how these ideas travelled, how the exhibition shaped discourse, and why certain curatorial acts have remained relevant across decades. Previously unseen materials, including manuscripts and working notes, correspondence, layout studies and original architectural drawings, shed light on the curatorial processes and the international dissemination of the historic exhibition. These archival materials are complemented by a large-scale model reconstructing the exhibition, and by on-site photography by Stefano Graziani.

Curated by Irina Davidovici and Frida Grahn. A collaboration between gta exhibitions and gta Archive.Model by Studio Christ Gantenbein.