Architects at Play

17 October 2019 – February 2020, CIVA Brussels; 28 September 2021 – 30 January 2022, Garagem Sul, Lisbon; 27 April – 11 June 2024, Pavilion Sicli, Geneva

Curated by David Malaud (CIVA)

David Malaud, Architects at Play Exhibition, Pavilion Sicli, Geneva, 27 April–11 June 2023. Photo © Guillaume Robert.

Based on the doctoral research of David Malaud, this exhibition originated at the CIVA in Brussels in 2020, and was then shown at Garagem Sul in Lisbon in 2021 and at the Pavillon Sicili in Geneva in spring 2023. It explored architectural play and imagination, built experiences and mythological narratives.

The exhibition introduces the encounters between two figures: the architect and the child. Through these two figures it explored a series of worlds imagined through their interactions. These worlds and the mechanisms of invention they summon are at the heart of the exhibition—where the playgrounds of children and those of architects, artists and designers collide.

Drawing Matter contributed over 30 drawings to the exhibition, including works by John Hejduk, peter Märkli, the OMA, Aldo Rossi, and Gio Ponti.

You can find Mathilde de Laage’s review of Architects at Play (2023) in Geneva here.

Aldo Rossi, Teatro del Mondo, 1980, Italy, engravings and prints, 558 x 728 mm. DMC 3018.
Gio Ponti, Set of 25 illustrated letters to publisher Daria Guarnati, 1960s, Italy, pen and ink, 280 x 220 mm. DMCm 2018.
Peter Märkli, 1980s, Switzerland. DMC 2698.1. DMC 2012.1. DMC 2012.2.
OMA, EuroDisney Hotel, interior, 1988, France, print on translucent paper, 532 x 665 mm. DMC 1797.
John Hejduk, Wall House, part of three drawings related to ‘Fabrication’, c. 1972, United States, black and coloured ink on paper, 85 x 273 mm. DMC 1808.