As part of the events commemorating 150 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Japan, an exhibition titled "JP-CH 2014: Building in Context" was held in Tokyo last October featuring five recent projects in Switzerland by four eminent Japanese architects.
"Architecture has the potential to be a facilitator for new cultural activities and exchanges between our countries, an incubator for business activities and a mediator for social connections," said Jan Geipel, a professor at the Geneva University of Art and Design and the exhibition curator.
Among the highlights was the Rolex Learning Center designed by SANAA, an award-winning architecture firm founded by Japanese Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. The center is a multifunctional facility that includes a library, a multipurpose hall, offices, cafe and a restaurant on the campus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).