Image: Wo-Co 2026

The annual event returns this year, where students of Architecture, Interior Design and Civil Engineering – fresh from an intensive collaborative experience with their peers studying Architecture and Engineering at Hawassa University in Ethiopia – share their journey and the challenges faced on site as they work together to construct a small building.

The 2026 theme of the Wo-Co, the Cooperation Workshop, focused on ‘appropriate technologies’, with a particular emphasis on domes as an example of sustainable and context-sensitive architecture.

At the SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio, it is now possible to undertake a sort of ‘pilgrimage’ along the ramp, which rises from the ground floor to the third floor of the Campus, to admire the photographs taken by the students themselves during their two weeks in Ethiopia in January–February.

On Thursday 2 April 2026 at 12.30, at the top of the ramp on the third floor, the participants of the Wo-Co will present their experience, sharing stories and anecdotes – an intense experience that goes far beyond the project itself, as it represents a journey across cultures and perspectives that fosters intercontinental friendships.
The exhibition is open to the public until Wednesday 15 April 2026 (Monday–Friday 9.00–19.00) at the SUPSI Department of Environment Constructions and Design Campus in Mendrisio, along the central ramp.

The Wo-Co 2026 edition involved:

• students from the SUPSI Bachelor of Arts in Architecture: Elena Bartoli, Matteo Carlini, Gioele Guscetti, Matteo Luisoni, Sara Monzardo, Nicolò Palù, Giorgia Palumbo, Nicole Paolillo, Lorenzo Rava, Riccardo Salice, Giacomo Spiller
• female students from the SUPSI Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture: Gaia Magnanini, Asya Truntetti
• students from the SUPSI Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering: Mauro Gianni, Luca Premoli, Maximo Butruce Beloqui
• students of Architecture and Engineering from Hawassa University: Hanan Alewi, Fitsumsew Altaye, Amanuel Ayele, Nigist Gebremedhin, Yeneneh Girma, Sifen Kebede, Hanan Kedir, Lidya Libemulu, Eyerusalem Nigusse, Simret Raya, Arsema Solomon, Binyam Tadesse, Chernet Teshome, Efrata Tewabe, Eyasu Wondwosen, Honelign Zekariyas

under the guidance of Michele Cutolo, Wo-Co manager, Lorenzo Fontana, liaison in Ethiopia, Piero Conconi, coordinator of Green it! NGO, and Aurora Tacchini, assistant on the SUPSI Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.