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Swiss National Bank

Börsenstrasse 16, 8001

Inactive

The manhole cover addressing extractivism is situated near the Swiss National Bank. Hidden from view, the building’s underbelly houses one of the largest gold reserves in the world. Gold was among the first minerals ever mined from the earth’s crust, and to this day it remains a key material in countless digital devices.

Why we chose this location

The manhole cover addressing extractivism is situated near the Swiss National Bank. Hidden from view, the building’s underbelly houses one of the largest gold reserves in the world. Gold was among the first minerals ever mined from the earth’s crust, and to this day it remains a key material in countless digital devices.

Google Headquarters

Europaallee 47, 8004

Inactive

Zürich is a strategic hub for global tech companies, thanks to its strong digital and financial infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and strategic location. As a result, the city hosts many data centres handling and storing user data for major companies – one of the most famous has its headquarters right next to the manhole cover on Europaallee.

Why we chose this location

Zürich is a strategic hub for global tech companies, thanks to its strong digital and financial infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and strategic location. As a result, the city hosts many data centres handling and storing user data for major companies – one of the most famous has its headquarters right next to the manhole cover on Europaallee.

Central City Square

Lindenhof, 8001

Inactive

Lindenhof stands on the site of an ancient Roman castle, and the small hill has likely been inhabited for over 3,000 years. Not far from here, Zürich’s first autonomous youth centre, the Lindenhofbunker, opened in 1970. A fitting spot for the “city” manhole cover, which asks the question: in what kind of city do we want to live?.

Why we chose this location

Lindenhof stands on the site of an ancient Roman castle, and the small hill has likely been inhabited for over 3,000 years. Not far from here, Zürich’s first autonomous youth centre, the Lindenhofbunker, opened in 1970. A fitting spot for the “city” manhole cover, which asks the question: in what kind of city do we want to live?.

Paradeplatz Financial District

Bahnhofstrasse 25, 8001

Inactive

The Address layer of digital infrastructure is where identity and value become operational – and finance is one of its most tangible expressions. What better place than Paradeplatz to host the manhole cover exploring these themes? The prestigious square has long been synonymous with Switzerland’s financial power.

Why we chose this location

The Address layer of digital infrastructure is where identity and value become operational – and finance is one of its most tangible expressions. What better place than Paradeplatz to host the manhole cover exploring these themes? The prestigious square has long been synonymous with Switzerland’s financial power.

ETH Zürich Polytechnikum

Polyterrasse ETH, 8001

Inactive

ETH Zürich has a long tradition of exploring and developing new forms of interaction between humans and digital technologies. Today, touchscreens and trackpads feel like “natural” interfaces, yet they are the result of decades of research and experimentation, as this section of our exploration reveals.

Why we chose this location

ETH Zürich has a long tradition of exploring and developing new forms of interaction between humans and digital technologies. Today, touchscreens and trackpads feel like “natural” interfaces, yet they are the result of decades of research and experimentation, as this section of our exploration reveals.

Nightlife District

Helvetia Pl. 62, 8004

Inactive

The rise of the internet once promised endless opportunities for self-expression and connection. For a fortunate few, that might still be true – but the darker reality is that digital subcultures have been stifled by commercialization and control, just like the diversity of Langstrasse’s urban communities is now threatened by relentless gentrification.

Why we chose this location

The rise of the internet once promised endless opportunities for self-expression and connection. For a fortunate few, that might still be true – but the darker reality is that digital subcultures have been stifled by commercialization and control, just like the diversity of Langstrasse’s urban communities is now threatened by relentless gentrification.

Interchange

Eldon St N, Barnsley S70 1SE

Active

The User manhole cover lies in Barnsley Interchange, where commuters pass through ticket gates, timetables and CCTV, in a process of incessant recoding and acceleration. Like the massive transport infrastructures that we use every day, the internet once promised its users freedom and connection; instead, it became a machine that processes us, reducing us to packets of data that can be bought, sold, optimised. Yet, among the frantic flow of people, a longing for true connection survives.

Why we chose this location

The User manhole cover lies in Barnsley Interchange, where commuters pass through ticket gates, timetables and CCTV, in a process of incessant recoding and acceleration. Like the massive transport infrastructures that we use every day, the internet once promised its users freedom and connection; instead, it became a machine that processes us, reducing us to packets of data that can be bought, sold, optimised. Yet, among the frantic flow of people, a longing for true connection survives.

Elsecar

Wath Rd, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ

Active

The Earth manhole cover sits outside the Newcomen Beam Engine at Elsecar, built in 1795 to pump water from the colliery below. It is the oldest steam engine still standing where it was built: a monument to the extractive age, and an impressive remnant of the Industrial Revolution. The pit is long closed and the site given over to heritage, but the hunger for what lies underground has only moved on.

Why we chose this location

The Earth manhole cover sits outside the Newcomen Beam Engine at Elsecar, built in 1795 to pump water from the colliery below. It is the oldest steam engine still standing where it was built: a monument to the extractive age, and an impressive remnant of the Industrial Revolution. The pit is long closed and the site given over to heritage, but the hunger for what lies underground has only moved on.

DMC

County Way, Barnsley S70 2AG

Active

The Cloud manhole cover is set at Barnsley's Digital Media Centre, the town's hub for its digital and creative economy. Behind its supposed weightlessness, "the cloud" hides a planetary sprawl of data centres, cables and platforms, almost all privately owned. This location asks who holds our data, who sets the terms of access, and who profits from the infrastructure we have all come to depend on.

Why we chose this location

The Cloud manhole cover is set at Barnsley's Digital Media Centre, the town's hub for its digital and creative economy. Behind its supposed weightlessness, "the cloud" hides a planetary sprawl of data centres, cables and platforms, almost all privately owned. This location asks who holds our data, who sets the terms of access, and who profits from the infrastructure we have all come to depend on.

Town hall

Church St, Barnsley S70 2TA

Active

The City manhole cover stands before Barnsley Town Hall, opened in 1933. When George Orwell lodged with the town's miners, he saw the civic building's grandeur as a waste of money that, he argued, should have gone to the housing and lives of the people it governed. Today, governance runs on sensors, databases and the quiet administration of the "smart city", but the question remains: for whom do we build our cities, and in what kind of city do we want to live?

Why we chose this location

The City manhole cover stands before Barnsley Town Hall, opened in 1933. When George Orwell lodged with the town's miners, he saw the civic building's grandeur as a waste of money that, he argued, should have gone to the housing and lives of the people it governed. Today, governance runs on sensors, databases and the quiet administration of the "smart city", but the question remains: for whom do we build our cities, and in what kind of city do we want to live?

Post office

Pitt St, Barnsley S70 1AA

Active

The Address layer is where identity, location and value become operational, but long before the IP address there was the post. Barnsley Post Office belongs to one of the oldest routing networks ever built: an efficient, accessible infrastructure that held the promise of neutral, universal addressing – a promise today's networks both inherit and quietly betray, as every data packet is tracked, priced and sorted into invisible hierarchies of power.

Why we chose this location

The Address layer is where identity, location and value become operational, but long before the IP address there was the post. Barnsley Post Office belongs to one of the oldest routing networks ever built: an efficient, accessible infrastructure that held the promise of neutral, universal addressing – a promise today's networks both inherit and quietly betray, as every data packet is tracked, priced and sorted into invisible hierarchies of power.

Lamproom

Westgate, Barnsley S70 2DX

Active

The Interface manhole cover is set outside the Lamproom Theatre: a Georgian chapel, later a boys' club, now a playhouse named for the miners' lamps its founder wanted glinting in the dark of the auditorium. Long before the glowing screen, the theatre was our greatest interface: a lit surface in a darkened room, engineered to hold the gaze, move the feelings and suspend disbelief; a technology designed to steer attention and desire.

Why we chose this location

The Interface manhole cover is set outside the Lamproom Theatre: a Georgian chapel, later a boys' club, now a playhouse named for the miners' lamps its founder wanted glinting in the dark of the auditorium. Long before the glowing screen, the theatre was our greatest interface: a lit surface in a darkened room, engineered to hold the gaze, move the feelings and suspend disbelief; a technology designed to steer attention and desire.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin

Inactive

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.

Why we chose this location

This location was part of Forward Festival rather than specifically chosen for (W)HOLE. We brought the portals here to carry their message into a new public context.