Lecture « Living in modern heritage – experiences and appropriation at the Swiss Foundation »

Lucas Berset, former resident of the Swiss Foundation, will explore the uses and appropriation of the Le Corbusier Pavilion, based on field research, on 21 May 2026 at 7pm.

Conceived as a living space embodying modernist theories, the Swiss Foundation has now become a monument. Caught between heritage requirements and actual uses, the residents navigate daily life within an architecture conceived as a model by Le Corbusier, which over the decades has become a constraint due to the building’s classification as a historic monument in 1986.

Through field research, Lucas Berset explores this delicate balance and seeks to understand how residents attempt to reconcile this strict framework with ways of making the place their own and personalising the spaces to create a ‘home’. In a survey conducted among some of the residents, Lucas explores, among other things, this notion of home, the comfort of the rooms, and the use of communal spaces such as the kitchen or the lounge, leading to the question of communal living.

This lecture thus follows on from the round table organised during the 2025 European Heritage Days on the question “What architecture for what kind of communal living?”. It will be followed by a discussion with the audience, moderated by Monica Corrado, director of the Swiss Foundation.