a home for the seasonal worker_studio Gay Menzel
︎︎︎ EPFL

Fall 2021 / Lausanne, CHE

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in collaboration with Reda Berrada.
instructors: Catherine Gay, Götz Menzel 

A story of (be)longing. In Bellinzona, seasonal workers are very frequent in farming and construction work. Agricultural lands are found all along river Ticino which connects the city to the Magadino plain, an intense food production hub for the valley. The study of Kiarostami’s film and the making of our discovery of the site took place simultaneously, and led us to draw surprising, almost coincidental parallels. In this exploration we question the relationship between shapeless urban space, and identity loss, or facelessness. The project wishes to maintain the agricultural potential of the site while bringing the anonymous worker back into focus and part of the city. The envisionned facility houses a barn (for farming storage and equipment), a communal kitchen and kindergarten for residents living above, as well as for neighbours.