Gion A. Caminada: Creation of Places - Invitation to the Exhibition

Statutory City of České Budějovice, House of Art České Budějovice, Faculty of Architecture CTU, MCA atelier kindly invite you to the opening of the exhibition of architect Gion A. Caminada - Creation of Places held under the auspices of the Swiss Embassy in Prague and the Faculty of Architecture CTU in cooperation: Präsenz Schweiz, Pro Helvetia.


Opening of the exhibition: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 18:00

Exhibition duration: May 8 - June 14, 2014
House of Art České Budějovice, Přemysla Otakara Square, České Budějovice


Organizer of the exhibition: Statutory City of České Budějovice, House of Art České Budějovice

Curator: Michal Škoda


Main partner and sponsor of the lecture: Faculty of Architecture CTU Prague and the Swiss Embassy

Media partner: Zlatý řez, Matério, SPA

Sponsor: AUUP (Association for Urbanism and Spatial Planning)

Organizer of the lecture: MCA atelier


“What interests me in my architecture is the discussion with local tradition. I simply ask myself what these old building systems can offer us. Where is the essence of these constructions? How can they be transformed for all those new uses that modern times require? It is always a discussion, about further development. I believe this is the core of the tradition of the whole village.”

These are the words of Swiss architect Gion A. Caminada, whose exhibition is prepared by the Gallery of Contemporary Art and Architecture of the House of Art in České Budějovice for May and June of this year.
Caminada proposed ideas in the late 1970s on how to improve the development and functioning of the village. Vrin has become largely the focus of his lifelong efforts. Today, with a certain detachment, it can be stated that Caminada’s visions and ideas did not remain just at the level of thoughts, which is evidenced by the unprecedented transformation of the mentioned place.

Vrin, a small village that is both socially and economically declining, has begun to change from many perspectives. People have stopped moving away, a whole range of public and private buildings as well as modern agricultural buildings have been erected, enabling a contemporary way of cultivating the landscape. All this, without any conflict with the traditional content of the village. The intertwining of tradition and heritage with new modern needs is well evidenced by the fact that Vrin was the first village ever awarded the Wakker Prize by the Swiss heritage protection.
For Caminada, architecture also has a social role. It is happy and beautiful for him when the tension between tradition and modernity brings attractive solutions, and the function is connected with the way of life.

Caminada’s work is based on the idea that houses must reflect human stories; architecture is an interdisciplinary field, and technique is only a supplement. With contemporary means, he seeks to impart a traditional face to the Alpine environment. At the same time, he admits that architecture is becoming an increasingly political matter. The creator must overcome a number of obstacles related to politics. He sees this as a partial weakness of contemporary architecture, which has unlearned how to solve problems.

The center of interest for Caminada is landscape / periphery /. He characterizes it as domesticated nature. Once significant support for this territory from the Swiss government has gradually begun to fade, as the government decided to support centers / urban catchment areas and large villages /, which should positively influence and inspire the periphery. However, he believes in the correctness of the opposite approach. He thinks such a way would conversely lead to an increasing number of abandoned villages.

In his work, he pays great attention to tradition and continuity, content, and not just to the image. His buildings speak a comprehensible language with a priority for their own function. He places great emphasis on detail and continuously explores the possibilities of traditional constructions, always seeking paths to a perfect model of a wooden house.

We can speak of architecture with a reflection of the original culture, with respect to the place, which is not just a romantic environment, but also a landscape with the challenges of weather whims.

This exhibition, which Caminada has prepared specifically for the spaces of the Českobudějovice gallery, focuses on the theme of CREATING PLACES. It deals less with individual architectural objects and much more with the idea of how to strengthen a place in its broadest reality. The exhibition is divided into five parts, and the viewer has the opportunity to encounter both the village of Vrin, the object-landscape relationships, as well as another location of Caminada's activity - ETH Zurich.


“Our requirement that we place on architecture means gaining proximity to the things that accompany us: space, topography, material, construction; apart from their material particularity, these things are integrated into meanings, emotions, and events. As elements of culture, they are thus relevant starting points of architectural design. In this process, it is crucial whether one can sensitively engage with these specific realities. At the same time, however, one must remain aware of their dialectical opposite, namely the dream – cultural, social, and architectural – utopias that transcend given reality.

In a serious encounter with these simple yet complex things lies an opportunity for architecture to get (re)close to the original, and that in the competition between the moments of modernity and their cultural essence.

Proximity to things moves a person and creates a different awareness in them. This admission of touch promises an aesthetic of such beauty that does not mirror itself in the gloss of superficiality, but in the significance of substantive values.”