The Land Workshop

The project The Land was conceived by Rirkrit Tiravanija and Kamin Letchaiprasert and developed by a group of artists to be a self-sustaining living environment.

The Land is located in the north of Thailand near the town Sanpatong, twenty kilometres southwest of the city of Chiang Mai. It was devised as an "open space", free from possession, in order to trigger discussion and experimentation in the field of culture.

The Land is a rice field with unlimited access for all visitors and users. A series of and buildings were constructed, referring to a variety of functions ranging from accommodations and kitchens to platforms for presentations and performances. Participants included Kamin Letchaiprasert, Tobias Rehberger, Philippe Parreno, François Roche, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Superflex, Nico Dockx and Rirkit Tiravanija. The most recent at The Land is an architectural structure by Frankfurt-based architects Nikolaus Hirsch and Michel Müller, which includes studios, workshops and accommodation. Numerous partner institutions will be involved, such as the Städelschule Frankfurt, CIAD Köln and Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

This architectural project is not the result of a conventional design process. The rigid and continuous building process is replaced by a series of workshops. The 13x35 meter workshop building will be planned and developed by different authors and a series of different workshops, ultimately dividing the entire building process into autonomous yet connected building components. In the structure of the manufactory itself, the sequence of workshops reflecting the construction work will remain visible: foundation, structure, façade, service and interiors. For each step different partners, studios and designers are chosen. Similar to the surrealist cadavre exquis the result is a joint venture made up of a series of individual contributions.

The exhibition in the SAM Swiss Architecture Museum displays an important step in the planning process. The show itself functions as a workshop anticipating the realisation-phase planned for the year 2014. In addition, London-based graphic designer Zak develops a new alphabet for the Land Workshop that is based on the participatory logic of the "corps exquisite". Thus the concept of the exhibition reflects the different conditions of collaborating, exhibiting and building.

The Land Workshop Building: Nico Dockx, Nikolaus Hirsch, Christina Koschowsky, Zak Kyes, Philipp Misselwitz, Michel Müller, Sabina Priese, Luisa Roth, Att Poomtangon, Hans Sachs, Emmi Wegener, Benjamin Windhoff The Bridge: Nico Dockx, Kris Kimpe, Helena Sidiropoulos. The Alphabeth for the Land Workshop: Ed Atkins, Nico Dockx, Jimmie Durham, Joseph Grigely, Nikolaus Hirsch, Hu Fang, Zak Kyes, Maria Lind, Chus Martínez, Michel Müller, Molly Nesbit, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Radim Pesko, Att Poomtangon, Raqs Media Collective.

The Land Workshop
Nikolaus Hirsch & Michel Müller
with Nico Dockx, Zak Keys, Ciad Köln, Philipp Misselwitz, Att Poomtangon
Until 22 September
The Alphabeth for the Land Workshop
SAM Swiss Architecture Museum
Steinenberg 7 , P.O. Box 911, CH-4001 Basel