The Seven Rules

studio SML’s proposal for the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2020 was selected among the five finalists with the project The Seven Rules.

The concept envisioned covering the pavilion walls with a wallpaper composed of the 2,222 municipalities of Switzerland and their respective coats of arms, representing the multitude of building regulations that shape Swiss architecture.

By filling the space with these regulations, the installation aimed to reveal the weight they carry in the architectural process and to provoke reflection on their role. Regulations can guide us to become better architects, yet their rigidity often stifles creativity. When applied without thought, they deny architects the ability to deliver meaningful projects — and society as a whole loses.

The project’s objective was to spark debate on the role of regulations in architecture and, more broadly, to question how rules, common sense, and collective responsibility can coexist in shaping the built environment, especially in times of global crisis.