Founded by Nicole McIntosh and Jonathan Louie, Architecture Office's newest exhibition Swissness Applied focuses on the architectural transformation of European inspired immigrant towns and their presence in the United States. A nation comprised of people and cultures from around the globe, the project allows for the topic of cultural appropriation in architecture, urban design, and planning to be discussed. 

Architecture Office co-founder Nicole McIntosh is a Swiss-born architect whose collaborative research explores a highly curated exhibition of various European immigrant towns whose characteristics reference from German, Danish, and Swiss design motifs. US towns such as Frankenmuth, Michigan; Solvang, California; and New Glarus, Wisconsin have been implemented into the American landscape by the individuals who immigrated to those areas. For this exhibition, New Glarus is a town the studio uses as the primary subject of focus in Swissness Applied.  

Founded in 1845 by Swiss settlers, New Glarus was originally a dairy farming village that evolved into a popular tourist destination. After an economic downturn in the 1950s, locals of the town used images and design motifs of their cultural heritage to boost the curb appeal. The idea of "Swissifying" their town created much attention from visitors which resulted in the entire town exuding Swiss architectural details. Towns like New Glarus have resulted in these Swiss architectural features to be codified and implemented into building construction. With the creation of specific building codes, these guidelines allow for the preservation of older buildings while regulating these aesthetics in newer buildings. 

The exhibition's exploration of New Glarus and its impact on urban mutation is presented through architectural drawings, models, and photographs. McIntosh intends to bring to light "the consequences of themed build codes through representational means." The models featured at the exhibition according to Architecture Office are an amalgamation of building elements influenced by Swiss architecture. The design studio sought to "remix building elements of Swiss architecture using Swiss-themed Faller model kits, to exaggerate or re-interpret the same architectural details to produce new associations, and further distill the process of “Swissify.”

The exhibition opens at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning on April 12th at the SARUP Gallery. The traveling exhibition will remain in Wisconsin from April 12th - May 3rd and then travel to Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland from September 20th - November 21st, 2019.