“Architecture is primarily a social act”: TEN is leading a visiting studio at D-ARCH
The architecture, design and research association works in various locations and constellations. The Avala House near Belgrade was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award.
TEN was founded as an architecture, design and research association by a group of architects in 2015. In 2019, the core members of the collective formed the architecture studio TEN with offices in Zurich and Belgrade. “TEN is composed as a record label; providing possibilities for forming interdependent work constellations for every project”, the group describes its method. Many of the twenty current members of TEN studied at ETH Zurich, where the design research group in the spring semester is leading a visiting studio at the Institute of Design and Architecture (IEA).
TEN was a laureate at the Swiss Art Award in 2018 and received the Foundation Award for emerging Swiss architects in 2020. In 2024, TEN has been nominated for the Royal Academy Dorfman Prize. Currently the office consists of around 20 members. They work in various locations, ranging from Switzerland and Serbia – where they mainly operate – to Greece, the US and Nepal. The group designs houses, takes part in competitions, does research, gives lectures, writes texts and collaborates in exhibitions. “The act of architecture for us is primarily a social act”, TEN writes in a statement published by werk, bauen + wohnen. “Architecture, in our view, should be less predictable, less expensive and therefore more powerful.”
After Nepal was hit by an earthquake in 2015, TEN together with local partners developed plans for the reconstruction of the remote Thame Valley. The construction model for the redevelopment was nominated for the World Bank Resilient Housing Award. As part of the plan, the architects built a dormitory for monks in collaboration with the Thame Sherpa Heritage Fund. The building combines traditional stonework with a novel, lightweight structural framework, that was developed with the Chair of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering at ETH Zurich.
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House for Five Widows (Photos: Maxime Delveaux) -
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Avala House
In Gradačac in Bosnia-Herzegovina, TEN together with partners, built a house for single, socially disadvantaged women, that combines five self-contained rooms with shared living, handwork and garden spaces. In Belgrade TEN transformed an industrial shed into a contemporary art gallery with a few simple interventions. On a mountain near Belgrade TEN designed and built Avala House, which was commissioned by a local craftsman. A minimal single living space constructed with prefabricated steel rests on two utility rooms made of concrete. “The prototype demonstrates how design can make compact living desirable”, TEN writes. The Avala House was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2022.
TEN members:
Aleksandra Bašić, Cyrill Wechsler, Danijela Jovicic, David Stöger, Dunja Dedic, Djurdja Radenković, Fabian Launer, Fabiana Frisullo, Jelena Perović, Scott Lloyd, Joel Zimmerli, Luka Piškorec, Lukas Burkhart, Mariapaola Michelotto, Nenad Pavlovic, Nemanja Zimonjić, Nicolas Rothenbühler, Ognjen Krašna, Scott Lloyd, Tijana Mačkić.
Visiting studios
Every year, the Department of Architecture invites six visiting studios, that teach design for one to four semesters. They are selected by the institutes with the involvement of the professors, the mid-level academic staff and the students.