Engage people’s awareness of the spaces they use and produce

The Sotto Voce foundation aims to bring the quality of public, built environment into focus and wants to enable ways to engage people’s awareness of the spaces they use and produce. The challenge is to bring the interests of a complex and highly professional construction world in line with the needs and preferences of the final users of those spaces. Sotto Voce offers a platform to assist architects in promoting their ideas and works to a broader public. We want to show people how architecture works.

A two-way street

The foundation concerns itself with future oriented solutions for today’s tasks, rather than the conservation of what has been a successful solution in the past. Therefore, we always see our efforts as a two-way street: Architecture gives shape to and is shaped by public life. To establish a meaningful dialogue, architects should engage more with contemporary culture in general. We want to explore this ever changing field and encourage architects to integrate its elements in their work.

The name Sotto Voce

Although the term is primarily used in music, this is not the reason for the name. There is no link to be sought between the name and the mission of the foundation. The word is understood in many languages and the internationality of the name is considered useful. Although architecture/urbanism is the foundation’s main interest for the moment, it is not excluded that the foundation’s mission may be expanded to other issues some day.

Why we use English

Although we are firmly rooted in Switzerland, our main language is English. We want enable everyone to to take part in a fruitful exchange. This includes the four language parts of Switzerland, as well as the growing number of young and aspiring international architects who make an important contribution to the progress of our building culture with their work in Swiss architecture offices.