Darwin's Theatre

Marco Bakker and Alexandre Blanc established their architectural firm, BABL Bakker & Blanc architectes associés, in Switzerland in 1992. At their offices in Lausanne and Zurich, they develop designs that are modest yet reflect the high demands of the built environment. Darwin’s Theatre, BABL at Work documents more than twenty-five years of the firm’s work and demonstrates their vision and approach through a selection of thirty-four built and unrealised designs. Inspired by Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s famous painting of the Tower of Babel, the book is conceived as a chronological spiral stairway to heaven that represents the evolution of eternal questions concerning space and time. This innovative concept reflects BABL’s continuous work on recurring questions and the realisation that each of their projects is an iteration of earlier ideas.