The gift exercise / Invitation 10: Haus Eber

Part renovation, part new construction, Haus Eber offers affordable living space for 95 young adults with limited financial means.

Over two years after the opening, Willimann/Arai spend a total of 625 hours serving the community of residents as self-appointed concierges. In this role, they support the emerging community and facilitate collective projects, whereby the residents participate in deciding how Willimann/Arai’s working hours are used.

The heart of the project is the community space, where Willimann/Arai are present in a concierge cabin during their working hours of an average of 6 hours per week.

In this open-ended process, Willimann/Arai examine the potential of artistic intervention for community building, and explore the ambivalent role of the concierge, service provider and authority at the same time.

Willimann/Arai developed multifunctional modular furniture and tables for the Haus Eber community space in collaboration with carpenter and designer Yumiko Egloff. These pieces can be used by Willimann/Arai and the residents to create different spatial situations.

The back wall of the concierge cabin consists of a paravent on which name tags of the current residents are hanging. This constantly evolving installation serves as a permanent archive of the Eber House community, with names being updated regularly to account for frequent changes in residents.