For one of his 1922 travel essays for the Toronto Star Ernest Hemingway wrote?in a typically thewy tone?of ?a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and all stuck over with large brown hotels built [in] the cuckoo style of architecture.? This was his Switzerland: a country cornered in the heartland of Europe and yet distant from so much of its history. A nation which, for better or worse and particularly over the course of the 20th Century, has developed a singularly one-dimensional reputation when it comes to architectural culture and the built environment.

"Which vernacular building or spatial situation do you find inspiring for your approach to architecture"". Image © S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum / Swiss Architecture Museum
For one of his 1922 travel essays for the Toronto Star Ernest Hemingway wrote?in a typically thewy tone?of ?a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and all stuck over with large brown hotels built [in] the cuckoo style of architecture.? This was his Switzerland: a country cornered in the heartland of Europe and yet distant from so much of its history. A nation which, for better or worse and particularly over the course of the 20th Century, has developed a singularly one-dimensional reputation when it comes to architectural culture and the built environment.

Opening room (S AM Basel). Image © S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum / Swiss Architecture Museu...