SUPERSTUDIO 2024 - DOMESTICATED FOODSCAPES - EAST LABORATORY - EPFL

Synopsis:

Balancing heritage and opportunity, the story of L’Étivaz cheese highlights the balance between tradition and adaptation. Produced exclusively between May and October, L’Étivaz is made by 67 families in the alpine region near Château-d’Œx, using milk heated over a wood fire in copper cauldrons and stirred by hand, these families create cheese wheels that are refined collectively at the Maison de L’Étivaz. 

Yet as winter sets in, production ceases, leaving the territory and its caretakers in a period of stillness. While the traditions remain intact, the inactive season raises critical questions: How can the producers’ labor and expertise be valued year-round? Can the territory itself be reactivated during these months of quiet? 

Authors: Baptiste Combes, Anli Guo, Johan link, Mikaël Rey, Lorenzo Simontacchi