23.10.2011 - 09.04.2012

The Object of Zionism. Architecture of Statehood in Israel

The architecture and history of settlement of the State of Israel represent a unique project in the history of Late Modernism – unparalleled in the scale and speed of its realisation. The systematic planning experiment led to the construction of an artificial landscape as well as the erection of dozens of new cities and hundreds of new rural settlements. Furthermore there is hardly any other place that demonstrates more clearly than Israel how architecture cannot be separated from basic social, economic and political conditions.

The exhibition in the Swiss Architecture Museum is based on the concept of an image and plan archive featuring various aspects of the architecture and spatial planning of Israel between 1948 and 1973. Still widely unknown in Europe the material to be shown provides a multi-faceted and critical portrayal of the first 25 years after the establishment of the State of Israel; various films, which will be shown in the exhibition, as well as presentations of current studies create a link to present conditions and issues.

Basel already exists as a mythical place in the history of Israel: in 1897 it served as the venue of the First Zionist Congress that took place in the Stadtcasino directly vis-à-vis the premises of S AM.

 

Upcoming exhibitions

05.04. - 14.09.2025

What Was Could Be: Experiments Between Preservation and Architecture

An Exhibition by the  S AM Swiss Architecture Museum in Cooperation with the Chair of Construction Heritage and Preservation (Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg), ETH Zurich.


Preservation is progressive: In current efforts to shift towards more sustainable building practices (known in German as the Bauwende, or ‘building turnaround’), preservation and maintenance of the existing building stock play a central role. The alteration or conversion of an existing building is considerably more resource-efficient than a comparable new build. This is leading to changes in the nature of architecture itself: where the focus used to be on new construction, building upon the built is increasingly considered the future of the discipline.

27.09. - 09.11.2025

SAY Swiss Architecture Yearbook

What defines Swiss architecture? The exhibition focuses on current construction and renovation projects with the aim of raising awareness about Swiss building culture and increase its visibility.
Curated by the S AM Swiss Architecture Museum and the magazine werk, bauen+wohnen.

29.11.2025 - 19.04.2026

Housing for Housing: The cooperative as a laboratory for coexistence

The exhibition presents cooperative housing regionally, nationally and internationally as a laboratory of non-profit-oriented cohabitation from which the entire city can benefit.