About
Care. is a research and educational project addressing care and architecture. The project was launched in 2023 in the Department of Architecture at ETH Zürich, focusing on non-conforming bodies to promote new forms of interdependent care through design and theory.
Architecture is understood as an instrument to promote forms of care that foster interdependencies among diverse individuals and social groups. Dismantling care regimes based on unevenly distributed and often invisibilised care labour, we promote an architecture that acknowledges the multiplicity of body dispositions in social space – from ageing to neurodivergence, from gender to race.
To date, the architectural discipline has constructed, under the umbrella of an alleged “normality”, a spatial regime that is deeply unequal. From the perspective of non-conforming bodies and acknowledging the intersectional condition of the self, Care. aims to rethink the built environment – from the infrastructural to the legal – to transgress reductive heteronormative configurations of collective living.
The multiformity of bodies and forms of being that composes a rich and fruitful society requires an approach to care that goes beyond existing disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Through theory and design, Care. intends to dissolve binaries like ability and disability or caregiver and care receiver, in order to disseminate forms of spatial interdependence rooted in mutual care, disruptive relationalities, and crip behaviours.
Care. is open to collaboration with collectives, institutions, and other entities.
Team
Anna Puigjaner (she/her) is a PhD architect and researcher, co-founder of MAIO, an architectural office based in Barcelona. Her work, linked to feminist studies, is focused on inclusive domestic architectures able to redefine former biased structures. She is currently Professor of Architecture and Care at ETH Zürich. Previously, she taught at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation GSAPP at Columbia University, at the Royal College of Arts, London, and at the Barcelona School of Architecture ETSAB/ETSAV - UPC. Anna has presented her work widely, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Venice Biennale, and the New York Museum of Modern Art. Her research project Kitchenless City was awarded the Wheelwright Price (2016) by the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Dafni Retzepi (she/her) born in Greece in 1992, is an architect EPFL and a teaching assistant at the Chair of Architecture and Care in ETHZ since 2023. She is a PHD candidate at the University of Bologna, Italy. She is one of the founding members of the architectural office Sujets Objets / based in Geneva. In 2019 she co-founded the experimental practice Arimna. Interested in the latitudes of practice and the highways of theoretical formulations, her projects and research examine contemporary architectural discourses under the light of relations to the recent cultural, economic, and political past.
Ethel Baraona Pohl (they/them) is a critic, writer and curator, as well as a co-founder of the independent research studio and publishing house dpr-barcelona, which operates in the fields of architecture, political theory, and the social milieu. Their curatorial practice includes, among others, “Twelve Cautionary Urban Tales” (Matadero Madrid, 2020–21); and more recently, “Llibres Model” a curated book collection and open library (Model, Barcelona Architectures Festival 2022, 2023). Their writing has been widely published, both in academic and independent publications. Ethel believes that publishing is a political act, and reading, a form of resistance.
Lisa Maillard (she/her) is an architect and researcher. She studied at ETH Zürich, Goldsmiths (London), and King’s College London, and has worked in participatory urban planning processes in Zürich. Her work covers questions related to bodies, gender, sexualities, law, space, and their intersections, with a particular focus on reproductive justice and the spatialities of street-based sex work. Lisa is a founding member of Kollektiv Erika, an informal, non-commercial gastronomy collective. She also works on geolocation for Airwars, a non-for-profit agency monitoring civilian casualties in conflict zones.
Pol Esteve Castelló (he/him, they/them) is an architect and researcher. Pol’s work focuses on the relationship between body, space, and technology with a special interest in non-conforming bodies, non-canonical histories, and collective and anonymous design. Their work has been presented in different formats, including writing, performative talks, and installations. They are a practising designer and a co-founder of studio GOIG. Pol is also affiliated to the Architectural Association and The Bartlett (UCL).
He Shen (they/them) studied architecture at ETH Zürich, with a Master’s Thesis on hidden interiors of historical LGBTQIA+ spaces in Zürich. He curated Cabin Crew (gta exhibitions) and Sexkino Roland (Nexpo) with Querformat, examining the built environment through queer art. He makes performative cooking events with Kitchuan, exploring memories and identities through food. He writes on art, performance, and architecture. Shen is interested in how the understanding of space can be broadened through performance.
Visiting Tutors
Josephine Baan (also goes by the names Joseph or Jo) is an artist and educator whose practice engages in art, education, and collaboration as ways to forge creative resurgence. They are interested in the complexities of collectivity and in the possibility of establishing a solidarity that does not homogenise, but affirms difference. Joseph’s artistic practice is closely linked to their work as an educator, which is influenced by radical pedagogy and non-hierarchical collaborative methods.
Luís Úrculo (he/him) lives and works between Madrid and Mexico City. His practice takes anthropology, archeology, and criminology as a main reference of phenomenology to create lines of investigation based on the idea of the reconstruction of timelines, interpretations, uncertain materiality, imprecise descriptions, or ambiguity to create a diverse body of works. He also works with the concept of ‘karaoke’ or absence of information, to create a line of complicity with the viewer, who builds interpretations, as tourists, archeologists, or simple karaoke singers in a bar.
Lecturers & Reviewers ↓
- Adrien Comte
- Alfredo Lérida
- Amalia Bonsack
- Amy Franceschini
- Amy Perkins
- Andrea Bagnato
- Andreas Angelidakis
- Angela Birrer
- Anna MacIver-Ek
- Anna Myjak-Pycia
- Annalisa Metta
- Anne Hultzsch
- Barbara Bosshard
- Caroline Profanter
- Charlotte Malterre-Barthes
- Chloé Salembier
- Coralie Berchtold
- Daniel Schwartz
- Dennis Pohl
- Elke Krasny
- Enric Carol
- Federico Broggini
- George Massoud
- Giovanna Borasi
- Heart Throb Mob
- Ingo Niermann
- Irina Davidovici
- Iván López Munuera
- Janus Lafontaine Carboni
- Jenny Schäubli
- Johnny Leya
- Jordan Whitewood-Neal
- Jos Boys
- Josephine Baan
- Julia Albani
- Khensani Jurczok-de Klerk
- Lori A. Brown
- Lovis Heuss
- Lucio Crignola
- M.E. O’Brien
- Magda Mostafal
- Mai Ling
- Maria Charneco
- Maria Kouvari
- Maria Shéhérazade Guidici
- Mariana Pestana
- Marie-Louise Richards
- Marina Otero
- Mark Hammond
- María Llopis
- Meriam Chabani
- Merve Bedir
- Michael Birchall
- Nagy Makhlouf
- Nikolaus Hirsch
- Niloofar Rasooli
- Oliver Burch
- Park McArthur
- Phila Bergmann
- Philip Ursprung
- Queerbeet
- Salmo Suyo
- Samia Henni
- Simon Kretz
- Simon(e) van Saarloos
- Sol Pérez Martínez
- Stefania Koller
- Stephan Stock
- TEN
- Theater HORA
- Tom Emerson
- Torsten Lange
- Vera Sacchetti
- Zahra Khatri
- iLiana Fokianaki
- queerAltern
Former Visiting Tutors ↓
Barbara Bosshard (she/her) has been president of queerAltern since 2019 and, on behalf of the association, project manager of the successful cooperation with the foundation Alterswohnungen and the Gesundheitszentren für das Alter. In 2026, the first queer living space in Switzerland, Espenhof – We Live Diversity!, will be inhabited in Zürich. Barbara Bosshard worked for many years as an editor for the Swiss Television and has authored two books. Den Himmel berühren (Touching Heaven) deals with the companionship of her life partner who died of cancer in 2008, and Verborgene Liebe (Hidden Love), the story of the gay couple Röbi Rapp and Ernst Ostertag.
Claudia Thiesen (she/her), *1973, studied architecture at Bauhaus University Weimar (D). She moved to Zürich (CH) in 2001, where she started her own business as an architect in 2008. In 2019, Claudia founded Thiesen & Wolf Company with Sabine Wolf. Together they develop cooperative housing projects in the non-profit housing sector. Since 2022, as a co-founder of the Queerbeet association, she is committed to provide housing for the needs of queer people. A first project is planned together with the Hauptstadtgenossenschaft on the Viererfeld in Bern.
Jenny Schäubli (she/her) is involved in various housing projects for the elderly. The focus of her work is the development of forms of housing for young and elderly queer people. As a trans person, she is involved in various queer organisations. Jenny has her own office, and has been designing, planning and building spaces for over 30 years as a qualified interior designer. With a creative mind and an open ear, implementing ideas and offering advice for the organisation, realisation and construction management of renovations or conversions. A central concern of hers is the strengthening of and networking between various queer organisations.
Student Assistants ↓
- Cedrine Altmann
- Lily Blanchard
- Malik Becker
- Pascal Bertschi
Former Student Assistants:
- Eva Tschopp,
- Florian Frommherz,
- Luis Botter Maio,
- Ya Kung Peng
Diploma Students ↓
- Lily Blanchard
- Nora Hochuli
- Pablo Grünig
Former Diploma Students:
- Alissa Luks,
- Anja Bouvard,
- Anouk Fischer,
- Florian Dervishaj,
- Ivana Luggen,
- Julie Theytaz,
- Lea Andermatt,
- Lucie Delacoste,
- Miranda Reynolds,
- Naomi Schanne,
- Nina Hsu,
- Norma Clematide,
- Oana Popescu,
- Senga Grossmann,
- Yann Schwaller
Studio Students ↓
Former Studio Students:
- Alejandra Schmid Lamarty,
- Alessandra Moro,
- Alexandra Yarochkina,
- Alina Shade,
- Andreï Zündel,
- Anna Hahn-Woernle,
- Anna Maria Essig,
- Anna Ozhiganova,
- Anne-Sophie Loretan,
- Armand Zanota,
- Ayse Kunduru,
- Bianca Disch,
- Carina Ragg,
- Carla Rindlisbacher,
- Carlota Steib Salgado,
- Cedrine Altmann,
- Charlotte Sörensen,
- Claudia Fleischmann,
- Cécile Mathieu,
- David Müller,
- Delia Matthys,
- Dilara Baysal,
- Esen Demirci,
- Eva Tschopp,
- Fabian Hug,
- Fabian Müller,
- Flavio Thommen,
- Florian Frommherz,
- Florian Rüegg,
- Florian Weinke,
- Flurina Schulz,
- Greta Dier,
- Ida Zakaryan,
- Ivana Bogdan,
- Jasmin Takayama,
- Jonas Pfeffer,
- Jules Henz,
- Julia Rezzonico,
- Julian Pauchard,
- Kim Stella Müller,
- Kimon Tsatsaronis,
- Kristina Lehtinen,
- Lily Blanchard,
- Livia Ruckstuhl,
- Lorenz Wittmer,
- Loris Müller,
- Lucas Tanner,
- Luce Salvadé,
- Lucie Delacoste,
- Luis Botter Maio,
- Lukas Riener,
- Léa Binggeli,
- Maena Asticher,,
- Malik Becker,
- Marina Sakellaridis,
- Marina Täube,
- Marlene Metzler,
- Martin Riewer,
- Martina Hügli,
- Meret Pfiffer,
- Micki Soriano,
- Miranda Reynolds,
- Moira Martinez-Avial,
- Mona Lecoultre,
- Naomi Schanne,
- Nathalie Bettoni,
- Nora Hauser,
- Pablo Grünig,
- Pascal Bertschi,
- Paul Haas,
- Paula Marie Bugla,
- Pierre Eichmeyer,
- Pénélope Croset,
- Reto Kluser,
- Roman Winteler,
- Romi Bassler,
- Selina Frauenfelder,
- Silvana Schwyter,
- Sofie Keller,
- Sophia Begun,
- Sophia Humpeler,
- Stella Meister,
- Theresa Zuhr,
- Trisha Karthik,
- Ursula von Zahn Corrêa Freire,
- Varvara Sulema,
- Vivienne Yao,
- Wiktoria Brzoza,
- Ya Kung Peng,
- Yannick Angehrn,
- Yaqi Liao,
- Yeva Dobrovolska,
- Zelal Sari