Working and Living

Studio House Wuhrstrasse 8/10 in Zurich: a unique working and living space for artists

The studio and residential building at Wuhrstrasse 8/10 in Zurich is a unique place: Commissioned by the Painters & Sculptors Building Cooperative Zurich, founded in 1948, eminent Swiss architect Ernst Gisel (19222021) designed this ensemble of buildings comprising eight apartments and twelve artist studios in 1953. Thus, a utopia of self-organized working and living space became reality. Since then, fifty-four artists have left their mark on the artistic and cultural life of Zurich and Switzerland from their home on Wuhrstrasse 8/10.

This book recounts the history of this extraordinary structure, illustrated with archival plans and documents as well as new and historic photographs. It also examines the political and social dimension of the Wuhrstrasse model and its international impact. Further essays explore how the lives and works of the resident artists are interwoven with contemporary events, and address the artist studio as both an idealized myth and as a real place of work. In inserts created especially for the book, eleven Zurich-based artists, all not members of the cooperative themselves, respond to the exemplary model that is the Atelierhaus.

• The Atelierhaus Wuhrstrasse 8/10 in Zurich is a model example of a living and working community of artists that has been thriving for almost seventy years
• Swiss architect Ernst Gisel's design of 1953 has remained virtually unchanged and its outstanding qualities still meet the demands of today's inhabitants
• Documents the building and its history through texts and largely previously unpublished archival plans and documents as well as historical and new photographs

• Portrays the lives and works of the artists who live and have lived in the house and sheds light on the philosophical, cultural, and social aspects of this unique world

  Autorentext

  The Painters & Sculptors Building Cooperative Zurich was founded in 1948 with the aim to improve the living conditions of Zurich-based artists and to provide affordable housing and studio space for its members.

Adam Jasper is a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich's Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta Institute).

Caroline Kesser lives and works in Zurich as an art historian and critic.

Bruno Maurer is director of archives at ETH Zurich's Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta Institute).

Burkhard Meltzer is a Zurich-based author, researcher, and curator.

Gabrielle Schaad is a lecturer and research associate at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Technical University of Munich.

Stefan Zweifel is Zurich-based a philosopher who also works as a writer and curator.

Zusammenfassung

Studio House Wuhrstrasse 8/10 in Zurich: a unique working and living space for artists