New exhibitions at TAM, until December 20, 2026

The Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio (TAM) of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) presents, from 8 May to 20 December 2026, three new exhibitions promoted by the Academy of Architecture: “Architectural Construction in Ticino, 1939–1996. Materiality and Tectonics”, “Pino Musi. Continuum” and the installation “Sleipnir and the Labyrinth of Doors” by students enrolled in the Design studio Forte at the Academy of Architecture. The public opening will take place on Thursday, 7 May at 6.30 p.m.

On the ground floor of TAM, the exhibition “Architectural Construction in Ticino, 1939–1996. Materiality and Tectonics”, curated by Franz Graf with Britta Buzzi, Carlo Dusi, Alessandro Bonizzoni and Sebastiano Verga, offers a reinterpretation of over fifty years of Ticino architecture through one hundred buildings selected for their significance from a constructional point of view.Documented through drawings, models, images and archival documents, the buildings are examined in terms of their physicality, in which materials, techniques and structural systems become tools for understanding the tectonics and poetics of the architectural works.
The exhibition project stems from two decades of research conducted the Construction and Technology Area of USI Academy of Architecture. Analyzing and redrawing the buildings, the students gradually created an open catalogue of "modern" buildings of Ticino, highlighting their structural value and educational potential.The exhibition highlights in particular twelve buildings, each accompanied by a publication featuring critical texts, documentary material and dedicated scholarly contributions. The exhibition also includes a selection of models, reports from Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana (RSI) and a photographic series by by Roberto Conte in 2025.

On the second floor, the exhibition “Pino Musi. Continuum”, curated by Michael Jakob, presents a selection of black-and-white photographs that investigate form, materiality, and the perception of space. Conceived as a site-specific project, the exhibition enters into dialogue with the circular architecture of the gallery and unfolds across six thematic sections. Each section features extended photographic scrolls, sequences of images that coalesce into a single panoramic narrative. Visitors are invited to engage with the central concerns of Musi’s practice, where photography and spatial reflection converge, transforming the act of seeing into a mode of knowledge. The themes explored include the relationship between ruin and the origins of architecture, the meaning of dwelling, the transformations and transitions of built space, and the tensions between surface, form, and incompleteness.
The exhibition is further extended by three large-format works dedicated to the recent restoration of Notre-Dame in Paris, alongside a selection of artist’s books that attest to Musi’s sustained engagement with bookmaking as an autonomous and interdisciplinary mode of expression.

In the atrium of TAM, the installation “Sleipnir and the Labyrinth of Doors”, curated by Duilio Forte in collaboration with Simon Fikstvedt e Barbara Stallone, features a sculpture Sleipnir inserted within a labyrinth of doors designed and built by students from Atelier Forte of the Academy of Architecture, transforming the space into a symbolic and architectural path that explores the relationship between humankind, space and design process.
 

• Open Days and Guided Tours 

On the occasion of the exhibitions, the Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio will regularly host free-admission open days, guided tours, and other special events. 

Free Open Days
Sunday 10 May, 10.00–18.00, as part of International Museum Day, with a guided tour at 11.00
Sunday 7 June 2026, 10.00–18.00
Sunday 5 July 2026, 10.00–18.00
Sunday 6 September 2026, 10.00–18.00
Sunday 4 October 2026, 10.00–18.00, MAM Network Day with a special event
Sunday 1 November 2026, 10.00–18.00
Sunday 6 December 2026, 10.00–18.00

Free guided tours (in Italian) of the exhibitions
In collaboration with students of the Academy of Architecture:
Sunday 10 May 2026, 11.00 am
Saturday 6 June 2026, 11.00 am
Saturday 5 September 2026, 11.00 am
Saturday 3 October 2026, 11.00 am
Saturday 31 October 2026, 11.00 am
Saturday 5 December 2026, 11.00 am
On these dates, the guided tour is free, while entrance to the exhibition is subject to ticket purchase.

Guided tours with the exhibition curators
Dates will be announced soon through the TAM newsletter.

Group guided tours (ITA, ENG, GER, FR) available upon reservation, even outside regular opening hours.
For information and bookings, please write to: [email protected]