The S AM Swiss Architecture Museum, in collaboration with the Association of Housing Cooperatives of Northwestern Switzerland, which celebrates its centenary in 2026, is presenting the exhibition ‘Wohnen fürs Wohnen’ from November 29, 2025, to April 19, 2026.

The exhibition presents the development of community-oriented housing, with a special focus on the Basel region, from its historical beginnings in the early 20th century to contemporary projects.

Practical info

« Housing for Living: Swiss Housing Co-operatives as a Laboratory of Co-life »
November 29, 2025 – April 19, 2026
S AM Swiss Architecture Museum
Steinenberg 7, 4051 Basel
Switzerland

Basel was one of the early centers of cooperative housing in Switzerland. Projects such as the Freidorf in Muttenz and the housing estates by Hans Bernoulli remain landmark examples from the interwar period. Later developments, like the Entenweid high-rise apartments and the Vogelbach estate in Riehen, also introduced important architectural and social innovations. Yet despite this legacy, cooperative housing plays only a minor role in the public perception of Basel.

This exhibition at S AM sheds light on this often-overlooked history and expands the focus to the entire region of Northwestern Switzerland — marking the 100th anniversary of the Association of Housing Cooperatives Northwestern Switzerland. The exhibition also highlights how cooperative models continue to offer innovative responses to today’s housing challenges, such as in the new developments Erlenmatt Ost, Lysbüchel Süd, Westfeld and other projects from across Switzerland.

EXHIBITION
Living space is becoming scarce, rents are rising, and social isolation is increasing. Against this backdrop, cooperative housing is gaining new relevance. What has been practised in Switzerland for over a century is now, more than ever, a model for solidarity-based, sustainable and communal living. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Association of Housing Cooperatives of Northwestern Switzerland. On this occasion, the S AM Swiss Architecture Museum is collaborating with this association to focus for the first time on the rich history and current dynamics of cooperative housing construction in Basel and the surrounding region, while also positioning it within a wider Swiss and contemporary context.

Iconic projects such as the Freidorf in Muttenz and Hans Bernoulli’s garden-city housing estate Im Vogelsang have had a lasting impact on entire neighbourhoods. This tradition is being continued on so-called ‘transformation areas’ like Erlenmatt Ost, Lysbüchel Süd, Westfeld, and the emerging Zentrale Pratteln neighbourhood. Alongside these well-known developments, there are also a multitude of little-noticed cooperative housing estates, especially from the interwar and post-war periods. These in particular offer considerable potential for innovative approaches to develop the non-profit housing stock further.

Cooperatives provide not only affordable, but also alternative forms of housing. They enable diverse ways of living beyond the traditional family model, foster a sense of community, and reduce resource consumption by cleverly saving space. Operating outside the commercial housing market, cooperatives can serve as laboratories for new forms of housing and new ways of life, specifically tailored to the needs of their members. In times of speculation and displacement, they offer an alternative to the profit-oriented market: not as charity, but out of collective self-interest.

Wohnen fürs Wohnen demonstrates what cooperative housing has been able to achieve in the past, and what it can offer today. It also asks the question: How do we want to live together in the future?