Episode 10: Ice by Anna Kavan, chosen by Emilie Appercé

Show notes

In late August 2025, we gathered at the Spitzplatz, a paved clearing in a small park next to Zurich’s main station. The triangular park, edged by water on two sides, sits where the Limmat and Sihl rivers meet. This convergence of rail, water, and road routes stretching across Europe – in a park once known for its community of drug users – felt like an apt place to meet.

This discussion was convened around Ice by Anna Kavan, published in 1967, and chosen by Emilie Appercé. On hand were Helen Thomas of Women Writing Architecture, Geraldine Tedder, curator and director of Kunsthaus Winterthur, Charlotte Matter, art historian and professor of contemporary art at the University of Basel, Jaehee Shin, and Emilie Appercé. Ice is neither a novel in the usual sense nor non-fiction: there are no facts or arguments, and readers often report discovering an entirely different book upon rereading. Sometimes described as Slipstream, blending surrealism, apocalyptic science fiction and fantasy, the text is both open and claustrophobic, emotionless yet unsettling, offering a unique lens to think about space, perception, and experience. The question of the day was how such a book–provoking yet withholding might become architectural.

With:

Emilie Appercé (architect and editor), Jaehee Shin (architect and editor), Geraldine Tedder, (curator and director of Kunsthaus Winterthur), Charlotte Matter (art historian and professor of contemporary art at the University of Basel) and Helen Thomas, (architect, writer, and publisher)

At:

Spitzplatz, Zürich