objects out of place: an exhibition inside former zurich washroom

former workers’ washroom in Zurich frames group exhibition

What happens when contemporary design is taken out of its usual setting? Dislocated Utility_Objects out of Place is a site-specific group exhibition curated by Paulina Reséndiz and Natascha Madeiski and presented during Zurich Design Weeks 2026 in a former SBB workers’ washroom in Zurich. The exhibition brings together 25 artists, designers, and craft-oriented practitioners, exploring the space between design, art, and craft through a range of material practices.

The former washroom was originally built for SBB workers and their families whose homes did not have private bathrooms. Its original spatial structure remains visible, including individual cabins, washing areas, tiles, and fixtures, and forms an integral part of the exhibition. Instead of creating a neutral display environment, the works are positioned directly within the existing architecture, allowing the building’s history, original function, and traces of use to shape how they are presented.

Dislocated Utility_Objects out of Place at the former SBB workers’ washroom in Zurich | all images ©Lorenz Cugini

Furniture, ceramics, glass, and textiles shape Dislocated Utility

The exhibition brings together furniture, lighting, ceramics, glass, textiles, and other object-based practices. Placed within the same setting, works with different relationships to function, making, and materiality create connections across established design categories.

By removing objects from their expected contexts, Dislocated Utility_Objects out of Place examines how setting influences the perception of utility, material, and form. The former washroom becomes both the exhibition space and part of its visual and material framework, placing contemporary objects in direct relation to an architecture shaped by everyday use.

the collective exhibition is presented during Zurich Design Weeks 2026contemporary objects are positioned directly within the existing architecturethe exhibition brings together 25 artists, designers, and craft-oriented practitioners