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The exhibition ‘Beyond The Clock’ by HEAD – Genève explores conceptions of time and their impact on human experience. Featuring projects by students from the Chair of Watch Design and the Department of Interior Architecture, it highlights works that move beyond conventional forms, addressing social and environmental themes.

The scenography of the exhibition and the displayed of the Interior Architecture students were based on a semester project ‘Spatial Times - Inside Virtual Architecture’, investigating innovative ways to perceive and represent 'time' within virtual reality.

In collaboration with Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.

Exhibited at Musée d’Art et d’Histoire.

Participating students of the Chair of Watch Design:
Lisa Dutheil, Lucile Beney, Suan You.

Participating students of the Department of Interior Architecture:
Soheil Afzali,  Luca Negro, Meghna Thanushree Nagarajan.

Under the direction of Simon Husslein, with the assistance of Chiara Kocis and Alexandra Miskufova.

Head of Department: Dr. Javier Fernández Contreras
Scientific Deputy: Valentina De Luigi

Students taking part in the semester project: Soheil Afzali, Nassim Baron, Selin Bilgen, Amandine Durand, Mireille Gidi, Hippolyte Giraud, Théophile Matton, Luca Negro, Lucie Terranova, Meghna Thanushree Nagarajan, Noemi Tshala.

Visiting lecturers and jury members: Ahmed Belkhodja, Laëtitia Bochud, Alexandre Burdin-Francois, Eléonore Donsimoni, Simone Fougnier, Damien Greder, Vytas Jankauskas, Aida Navarro, Nina Robin, Mathias Zieba.

Unity support: Raphaël Munoz
VR exhibition architect: Arne Magold

Images: HEAD – Genève, Roman Lusser, Raphaëlle Mueller

Film: HEAD – Genève, Elliot Huescar

The project ‘Interior Equalities – Redesigning the Locker Room Experience’ aims to improve existing changing room facilities for young football players. They often lack atmospheric qualities and sufficient capacities, compromising the privacy and comfort of young athletes. The male-dominated culture prevalent in many sports clubs can create an unwelcoming environment for female and non-binary players.

Initiated by the UEFA Innovation Hub in collaboration with ThinkSport and the Swiss Football Association, this project started as a semester project in the Department of Interior Architecture at HEAD – Genève. Thirteen students designed individual spatial interventions aimed at making football facilities more inclusive and user-friendly. The basis was extensive research, including an analysis of various locker room designs, examination of user questionnaires, and engagement with contemporary discourse on equality in interior architecture. Advanced technologies such as 3D scanning were employed to analyse existing spaces, while mixed reality headsets enabled students to create their design concepts at a 1:1 scale.

The individual proposals formed the foundation for developing a functional prototype. Partnering with OSZ Worbboden, two existing locker rooms underwent comprehensive renovations and replacement of furniture elements.

Presented at Unstoppable: Women’s EURO Final Forum, Basel.

Under the direction of Simon Husslein, with the assistance of Chiara Kocis.

Head of Department: Dr. Javier Fernández Contreras
Scientific Deputy: Valentina De Luigi

Students taking part in the semester project: Martin Annen, Giona Leo Baumann, Carla Ferey, Alexis Lang, Marie Mamou Blanché, Elise Mathis, Missilia Mendy, Zoé Mettraux, Yan Vasquez, Nina Wallimann, Emilie Liechti, Carolina Rodrigues, Elodie Rochat.

Collaborators:
UEFA innovation hub
Swiss Football Association SFV / ASF
ThinkSport
OSZ Worbboden

Semester jury members: Gabrielle Schaad, Evelyn Steiner.

Images: HEAD – Genève, Valentine Blaimont

Film: HEAD – Genève, Lucie Goldring

The project Alchemy of Atmospheres explores the potential of immersive and engaging virtual architectures to enable new and meaningful forms of human interaction in digital environments.

New patterns of interaction are forming on contemporary social VR platforms, where the structure and design of the surrounding worlds play a significant role in influencing human behavior. New architectural concepts, layouts, and aesthetics of these worlds can enable meaningful social connections and initiate new rituals. The aim of this project is to propose new atmospheric qualities and to create virtual spaces that encourage people to come together and build relationships.

"The Other Home" is a VR project that explores the expansion of the concept of "home" into the digital realm. The word "home" typically refers to a physical structure in which a person lives, such as a house or apartment. However, the psychological and architectural qualities of digital "homes" are still being explored and defined.

In this project, a group of 17 students envisioned and created nine different VR worlds that were published on the social VR platform VRChat. All environments share a playful and experimental refinement of atmospheric quality and symbolism. To create these worlds, the students compared and applied various experiences from both physical and virtual environments.


Presented at DIGITAL ARTS ZURICH (DA Z) 2023.

Students taking part in the project: Mélanie Affolter, Melissa Bitto, Dylan Braun, Luna Clertan, Minna Compoint, Yaroslav Dubeniuk, Ilena Escher, Clara Faure, Lea Gruaz, Tal Kashi, Elena Llosas, Paul Rigal, Stéphanie Pereira Sacramento, Anna Smiian, Fanny Tauxe, Lou Vanille Tissot-Daguette, Elisa Torres Ferreira.

The exhibition presented a novel typology of virtual reality environments designed to showcase furniture pieces by Swiss designers. Developed in collaboration with students from the Master of Arts in Interior Architecture (MAIA) program at HEAD – Genève, the VR spaces on display offered visitors an immersive experience that transcended the limitations of physical representation. This groundbreaking installation was featured at the 'House of Switzerland' during the Milan Design Week 2022.

Students taking part in the exhibition: Nell Beller, Emma Birbaud, Kevin Chellakudam, Thomas Dreux, Samia Hilal, Vilma Hubalek, Valeria Lydia Kraehenbuehl, Emma Launay, Lisa Maahsen, Camila Perna, Sandy Pitetti, Anaïs Youssefi.


Publication ENTERING THE ROOM with VOLUME MAGAZINE.
Download an extract HERE.

Under the direction of Simon Husslein, with the assistance of Damien Greder, Dany Champion, Pablo Brenas

Photos: HEAD – Genève, Guillaume Collignon and Morgan Carlier

Video: HEAD – Genève, Jimmy Roura

HEAD – Genève:
Director: Jean-Pierre Greff
Head of Department: Javier F. Contreras
Scientific Deputy: Valentina De Luigi


3D Programming: Arne Magold
Sound: Benjamin Gueit
Textiles: Visual Society
Graphic design of the exhibition: Ismaël Abdallah & Constance Jacob