Switzerland is preparing for the day of mourning in homage to the victims of the tragic fire which on New Year’s Eve, in a restaurant in Crans-Montana, caused 40 deaths and 116 injuries. And it is for this occasion that the prestigious architecture faculty of Mendrisio calls together its students, remembering what the role of the architect is: not only designing houses but designing them keeping in mind the safety and well-being of people.
«Dear students, colleagues, collaborators, on the occasion of the day of national mourning declared for the dramatic event in Crans-Montana, a minute’s silence will be observed throughout the country on Friday 9 January at 2.00 pm.
I would like to propose – to those who will be present at the Academy – that we meet together for a moment of reflection and sharing at Villa Argentina, in the central space.
Not only because we are a Swiss school and therefore participate in a collective gesture of the country, but also because we are an architecture school. Our discipline does not only concern the project as a form or language, but also the ability to technically conceive spaces, materials, structures and safety conditions capable of responding to situations of gatherings, fragility, loss of control, collective unconsciousness, against the idea of a world that is willing to do anything for private economic interests.
Responsibility, critical capacity and the prediction of disasters – natural or human – are part of the training of generalist architects, called not only to build, but also to prevent, protect and take care of society through design.
Finding ourselves in silence is therefore also a disciplinary gesture: a moment of suspension, of shared reflection, of awareness of the role that our work and our teaching have in the real world. Anyone who wants will be welcome.”
