Kim Schönauer is a Swiss multidisciplinary artist and interior architect, working at the intersection of architecture, scenography, and the expanded field of sculpture. Her practice investigates the historical and cultural construction of space and its representation in media, exploring spatial narratives and experiences. Through installations, objects, and research-driven projects, she translates contemporary and theoretical questions into spatial frameworks and media landscapes.
Kim studied Sculpture and Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art and Fine Arts at the Berlin University of the Arts. In 2022, she graduated with honors, and her graduation project, Co-Existing Objects, was shortlisted for the Berlin University of the Arts President’s Prize. Following her studies, she worked as an artist and spatial designer, developing exhibition displays, video scenographies, object and furniture designs, while gaining professional experience in stage and film construction. She subsequently joined the Master of Arts in Interior Architecture (MAIA) program at HEAD – Genève, where she further developed her interdisciplinary approach to space-making. Alongside her academic work, she has contributed to numerous built projects and exhibitions in Geneva and participated in international events, including Milan Design Week and the Animals Inside. A History of Objects and Furniture for Pets in Domestic Interiors symposium, where she presented her theoretical research project Digital Domestication: Dog TV. Her ongoing research project on Dog TV will be exhibited at mudac in Lausanne in spring 2027.
Diploma Project
Spatial Domestication: A House for Dogs
The project builds on the research developed in Digital Domestication: Dog TV, which investigates the evolving relationship between dogs, humans, and media technologies within the domestic environment. Through the case study of Dog TV, an American television network launched in 2012 to broadcast programming for dogs, the thesis exploresnew trends in pet ownership and their evolving cultural representation. Promising to entertain dogs, reduce stress, and alleviate separation anxiety, Dog TV illustrates a broader shift in which digital systems are increasingly directed toward the emotional and behavioral taming of non-human household members, who are left alone at home.
A House for Dogs responds spatially to this condition by transforming a 1950s house and garden into a contemporary dog daycare for a newly developed neighborhood in Geneva. The project reimagines domestic space from a dog’s perspective, creating an enriching environment that encourages self-directed activity and exploration.
A central ramp system, paired with lower side floors, playfully negotiates the scale of dogs. The house unfolds into a sequence of distinct zones, ranging from interactive, social areas to quieter, retreat-like spaces. Dogs move freely between cool, sheltered basement areas, tiled bathing platforms, and warm, intimate attic niches. Running through the entire structure, the ramp becomes an uncanny shared circulation spine and contact zone, where human and dog paths intersect and interactions naturally occur.
