redefine public space through collective activism
Marisa Brunner
Geraldine Burger
Lea Gfeller
Greta Kochhäuser
Rebekka Marxer
Michelle Nägeli
Chiara Pestoni
Corinna Räz
Amina Röthlisberger
Ariane Senn
Valentina Sieber
trans*formativ is a collective dedicated to accessible and gender-appropriate public space and planning. We raise awareness to issues of gender and disability -biased public spaces throughout precise, yet always playful interventions. With our practice we aim to create a platform for alternative, more equitable visions.
We were included in the interim publication Hemmige by Lila Strauß, developed in the context of a one-day workshop that explored spatial and social constraints. As part of the Parity Talks at ETH Zurich, we led a workshop entitled Norm Spotting: Unveiling HIL’s Obstacles, in collaboration with expert Barbara Schaub. Most recently, in partnership with Creatrices, we co-organised an event on the eve of the Women’s Strike in Zurich to inaugurate the second billboard—marking both a symbolic gesture and a collective call to action.
MissOir is our inaugural realised project and the starting point for a sustained critical engagement with urban and social environments—particularly in contexts where inclusive infrastructure is absent or systematically overlooked. Initiated during the 2024 Women’s Strike in Zurich and reimagined in 2025, the project challenges exclusionary spatial norms through observation, reflection, and participatory intervention.
Grounded in collaborative engagement, reuse, and DIY culture, MissOir takes the form of a mobile toilet for women as well as a space for encounter—functioning both as a practical utility and as a platform for dialogue, action, and community gathering. Standardised public spaces often reflect design principles based on the male body and ableist assumptions. In response, MissOir reclaims space within the urban landscape for those historically excluded from it.
Our approach combines close analysis of spatial and socio-political structures with critical reflection on normative frameworks and tangible, collective intervention. The installation is deliberately mobile, adaptable, and context-responsive—serving as a site of expression, resistance, and alternative modes of inhabiting the city.
Having already operated as a highly visible urban platform—a kind of mobile megaphone—MissOir now serves as the foundation for further experimentation. Rather than replicating this object, we aim to develop new, site-specific forms and interventions that respond to the diverse spatial and social conditions of their contexts.
Looking ahead, we aim to expand our practice through interdisciplinary workshops, local collaborations, and participatory formats. Our ambition is to evolve MissOir into a broader, translocal platform for inclusive, activist spatial practice—foregrounding care, access, and collective imagination in the rethinking of public space.