Working and Living
The studio and residential building at Wuhrstrasse 8/10 in Zurich is a unique place: Commissioned by the Painters & Sculptors Cooperative Zurich, founded in 1948, eminent Swiss architect Ernst Gisel (1922–2021) designed this ensemble of buildings comprising 8 apartments and twelve artist studios in 1953. Thus, a utopia of self-organised working and living space became reality. Since then, 54 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 idealised myth and as a real place of work. In inserts created especially for the book, eleven Zurich-based artists, all members of the cooperative themselves, respond to the exemplary model that is the “Atelierhaus.”
The Painters & Sculptors 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.