Cleanliness is an obsession; dirt is a fascination. Disgust is embedded in personal and cultural systems to help us discern and navigate what could endanger our integrity as a body or society. Yet revulsion to dirtiness is more than a protective mechanism. Introducing uncleanliness in design can be revolutionary or revelatory.

As architects-to-be, we are aware that our practice and its history is inherently unclean. We have disowned our masters, disavowed our teachers, distanced ourselves from our rites. But becoming too aware of all the filth produced by the profession can tempt us to impose sanitary barriers and refuse to get our hands dirty.

Contributions by Elias Aebi, Lewis Beauchamp, Lucia Bernini, Lily Blanchard, Dasha Byrne, Nico Canal, Loïc Cao, Lulu Crouzet, Paola De Martin, Christina Fäh, Hélène Frichot, Damla Göre, Steffen Hägele, Philip Heckhausen, Robin V Hueppe, Adam Jasper, Rabea Kalbermatten, Blanka Major, Lara Makhoul, Danny Sahan, Sina Schaper, Thomas Sommerauer, Jakob Walter, Ella Willemse, and Lene Zech.

trans magazin is a biannual magazine for architecture at the Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich. It has been managed by an independent student editorial team since 1997.