Lara Grandchamp

Urban dovecote – Lara Grandchamp, Stipendiatin 2019/2020

This term, I had the opportunity to join a workshop led by a group of researchers who investigate new ways to produce wooden façade using advanced digital tools. I purposefully chose to work on the dovecote for two reasons:

The first one is that, originally, dovecotes had a strong historical statement of local craftsmanship. The second is that I wanted to tackle the problematic of the overpopulation of pigeons in cities and think of a concept that would provide them a safe and healthy place to stay as well as using it to control their population. In short, bringing the use of the dovecote (also called pigeon loft) back to a contemporary and this with the help of a new technology. A perfect fit to this workshop’s tasks.

Blowing Glass – Lara Grandchamp, Stipendiatin 2019/2020

This term, my group of study is giving a closer look at the eclectic collections of objects gathered over the years by the The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).

The Swiss TPH was founded in 1943 by the famous Basler zoologist Dr Rudolf Geigy[1].

Over the years, Dr Geigy and his fellow scientists colleagues have brought back different objects and art pieces from the countries they have stayed in mainly western Africa. These objects have since taken random placed in the TPH’s building, with no particular care in terms of display setup. It was rather amusing to see wooden mask and spires casually hanged beside the printer and the bathroom door!