What is a national exhibition and why do we need it?
Design fans are probably familiar with the “Landi Chair” by Hans Coray. Zurich residents have surely visited the “Landiwiese” a home for skaters, freestylers and the Zurich Theaterspektakel. And no, the general store “Landi” has nothing to do with it.
The “Landi,” national exhibition or “Expo,” has been a Swiss institution for over 100 years. Apart from the world exhibitions – such as the one it recently held in Milan or that gave us the Eiffel Tower over a century ago – Switzerland is the only country that has organised a national exhibition for each generation for over 100 years. In 1883, it took place in Zurich, in 1896 in Geneva, 1914 in Bern, in 1939 back in Zurich, in 1964 it was held in Lausanne, and the last time in 2002 it was held in the cities of Biel, Yverdon, and Murten. In 2027, the national exhibition will take place both digitally/decentrally and at a location that belongs to all those living in Switzerland such as the site of the military airfield in Dübendorf.
Each time the National Exhibition was held it was an event that built up over several years and occupied the whole of Switzerland bringing inhabitants together for one summer – with societal after-effects and side effects felt decades afterwards. Sociologists speak of the National Exhibition as an essential part of the “symbolic infrastructure” of our country. One could also say that every “Landi” has shaped and consolidated our Swiss identity, our attitude and our self-confidence as a small country on a large planet. We want to build on this.
In 1883, the first national exhibition was an instrument of newly born federalism. It was the embodiment of the Federal Constitution, revised in 1874. At a time when the means of communication and mobility were still in their infancy, the National Exhibition was the place where an abstract Switzerland met in all its diversity and consolidated itself for a shared future.
Though the underlying reasons are entirely different than in 1883, the need for a national exhibition in 2027 is the same. At a time when we are digitally networked, a “Landi” would once again be a place where an abstract Switzerland could meet in all its diversity and strengthens itself for a shared future. In a time of globalisation, structural change and digitisation, such a coming together is urgently needed.
Landi ’39 – Zurich: Impressive demonstration and presentation of Swissness
Expo 64 – Lausanne: Hope for progress, utopia machinery and desire for revival of the “Landi” spirit
