ARCHISATIRE. A Counter-History of Architecture

The Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio (TAM) of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) presents, from November 14, 2025 to March 29, 2026, “ARCHISATIRE. A Counter- History of Architecture”.

The exhibition, curated by Gabriele Neri in collaboration with the Library of the Academy of Architecture, explores the encounter between satire and architecture through caricatures, cartoons, photomontages, animated films, videos and other forms of expression. The exhibition offers an unconventional interpretive key that contrasts the “gravitas” traditionally attributed to the act of building with the wit – and often the irreverence – of satirical narrative, thus proposing an “alternative historiography” of the architectural and urban transformations of the past centuries.

All the works on display, often conceived for the ephemeral life of newspapers and magazines and addressed to a broad audience, become an original critical tool that reveals the impact of architecture on everyday life, as well as to the cultural and social role of satire and irony. This is explored in the exhibition through four thematic sections: from the figure of the architect in caricature, to the “urban scandals” sparked by major projects; from the “irrational house” to the many examples of architects who have engaged with the art of cartoon. Between parody and denunciation, satire and irony emerge as valuable lenses through which to observe architecture from unexpected perspectives, inviting both the viewer and the architect to reflect on the true meaning of the concepts of designing and inhabiting.