La Maison des Babayagas

Baba Yaga is an ambivalent mystical figure, well-known through slavic folktales, with origins tracing back thousands of years to matriarchal societies. Baba Yaga refers to the role of elderly women in preindustrial society where they held a central role in society, possessed and transferred knowledge about reproduction and the cycles of life. With the rise of patriarchy, the spread of Christianity, and the transition to industrial capitalism, Baba Yaga was demonized and reduced from a wise old woman to an evil witch. This shift paralleled the systematic persecution of women during the witch hunts, which sought to destroy their knowledge and dissolve networks of solidarity.

Although statistics show that in Switzerland, on average, more unpaid reproductive work is done than paid labour, there are few spaces for the elaboration and exchange of knowledge about reproduction and aging. Given the care crisis and the demographic changes we are facing, we need to develop a more nuanced understanding of ageing and think of alternative care structures for the elderly.

My project envisions an autonomous retirement home for FINTA individuals to age independently and in solidarity. The adapted structure will foster community through shared activities, including for example a textile workshop, herbal garden, and the central stove—reviving spaces and architectural elements that were historically linked to women and had a central role in the preservation and transmission of reproductive knowledge. To this end, individual modules of the prefabricated modular structure of the Sihlquai car park will be reassembled to meet the spatial requirements of the new program.