Organized in collaboration with Sitterwerk St.Gallen, the two exhibitions are devoted to a common theme: the practice and work of Studio Mumbai, India. While Sitterwerk is concerned with the material aspects of “learning through making,” the vai exemplifies modus operandi of a genuinely non-standard architecture.

A series of films has been specifically created for the occasion and shot in the workshops and covered external spaces of the studio premises in Alibaug, a rural plantation 30km away from Mumbai, where some 50 craftsmen are tirelessly embroiled in the fabrication of mock-ups, buildings elements of various materials or furniture. These films shed light on some of the working processes with their specific pace and temporal rhythm.

In addition a number of interviews are shown, conducted with Bijoy Jain and some of the protagonists in the workshop. A selection of sketch books and short films which Jain continues to shoot on his journeys through the Indian landscape exemplify the diversity of resources the work is inspired by. With the exemplary documentation of one specific project – Palmyra House – the rich material quality of the built architecture is palpable.

Photographs of Hélène Binet serve as impressive evidence of similarities with the development and current condition of the building culture in Vorarlberg, which was after all one of the reasons for putting this show together.