Under the Radar

John Hill

7. August 2020

Exhibition view of Under the Radar at S AM (Photo: Tom Bisig)

Under the Radar opened at S AM Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel in November 2019, when it was meant to run until March 15, 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic closed museums around the world. After reopening in May, S AM has extended the timely exhibition until the end of August.

Under the Radar "presents an international overview of significant research projects dealing with ]the] investigative form of architecture" of Theo Deutinger, Forensic Architecture, Studio Folder, and others. The exhibition shifts the focus from architects designing buildings to architects "[probing] the conditions governing the territories in which they are intervening" through processes similar to investigative journalism: "they collect pieces of evidence, analyze them and synthesize them into a narrative."

What makes the exhibition particularly timely is the work of Deutinger, who has amended his contribution with pandemic-related content produced with his students at Universität Kassel. As he explained to S AM Director Andreas Ruby in a live conversation in June (video at bottom), "The Pandemic Space" studio and "The Image of the Virus" seminar allowed him and his students to examine the coronavirus and speculate on its potential impacts on architecture and urban areas. Some of their results were added to the displays in the S AM galleries.

Under the Radar is on display at S AM Swiss Architecture Museum until August 30, 2020.