Little research exists on urban-scale models. In existing scholarship, they are often lumped together with architectural models. Although urban-scale models certainly possess characteristics that are similar to those of architectural models, they also differ. The key difference, this research project hypothesizes, is that in urban-scale models the performative More
Land use regulations in Switzerland do not meet the requirements of the spatial planning act (SPA) in their guidance for parsimonious land use. If parsimonious land use is to be achieved, urban economic theories and price-based regulations must be leveraged to determine the intensity and balance of land More
Video jetzt online! In einem Dialog für Praxis und Hochschulen nahm das Netzwerk Stadt und Landschaft (NSL) der ETH Zürich am 11. November im Volkshaus Zürich eine Standortbestimmung für die räumliche Entwicklung in der Schweiz vor. Ausgangspunkt bildeten Erkenntnisse aus der Pandemiesituation, Hintergrund der Klimawandel. Die Tagung war More
On a joint trip entitled «Transitions» in autumn 2019, students from the Kyoto Institute of Technology and the ETH Zürich investigated a series of houses and their relationship to the (urban) landscape in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo, using sound recordings and laser scanning. The Symposium was an opportunity to More
ETH Zurich has recently launched a new center for augmented computational design in architecture, civil engineering and construction. 24 professorships, including the NSL chair of Christophe Girot, are joining forces under the name Design++ to develop digitally enhanced design methods which support rational and intuitive decisions during the design More
The reconstruction of the Moroccan city of Agadir in the immediate aftermath of the devastating 1960 earthquake is an exemplary yet much overlooked cross-cultural «contact zone» between local and international rescuers, experts, citizens, organizations, and governments. Studying why the development aid Morocco received was not unconditionally accepted, but More
Colombia has suffered an armed conflict for over 50 years. As a result, more than 1 million children lack access to education with a deficit of 3’000 schools and more than 8 Million civilians displaced from their homes. Growing Schools Prototype is a strategic up-scaling concept for replicating More
Looking at the fields of wheat and orchards of almond blossoms around Senan, Spain, «crisis» is not the first word that comes to mind. The valleys appear tranquil and unchanging. However, like most rural landscapes in Spain, the area has transformed dramatically in the past decades.
17 June, 16:30 (Lisbon, Portugal/GMT+1 | Online & face-to-face) | International Conference. Session 3 ‘Publicness in middle-class large housing complexes as a new way to examine the premises of cultural encounters and social integration’ Liv Christensen and Eveline Althaus. Language: English Registration necessary Further informationen and programme Optimistic More
2. Juni 2021, 16:30 – 17:30 | Online. «Altersfreundliche Stadtquartiere: Was bedeutet das in der Praxis? Die Kulturwissenschaftlerin Liv Christensen des ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE spricht im Rahmen der Impuls Mobilität-Veranstaltung «Planen für Jung und Alt» über den Zugang älterer Menschen zu städtischem Leben. Sprache: Deutsch Hinweise: Die More
The second volume in the ‘Chapters’ series from Brussels-based architecture firm 51N4E focuses on how design processes can be shaped through dialogue. First, it investigates their work together with two design-focused consulting firms, endeavour (Antwerp) and Denkstatt (Basel), wherein all three explore the boundaries of architecture, advocating openness More
As a response to Susan Leigh Star’s call to study “boring things” and mundane aspects of infrastructure, this research project offers a reflection on the notion of “secondary infrastructure”, understood here as the infrastructure enabling the fabrication of the primary one. Through this lens, high alpine networks of hydroelectricity are seen More
In the history of rivers in Switzerland, the emergence of hydroelectricity from 1870 to 1970 made the reservoir a new and major landscape figure. However, research works on hydropower have typically focused on dams and power plants, leaving reservoirs in the background, as a passive element. This dissertation More
The two cities of Johannesburg and Maputo are geographically close to one another in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although they have distinct histories and features, they also share some similarities that should yield rich results through comparison. For example, governments in South Africa and Mozambique have made significant investments in More
The last two decades have seen a sharp increase in the speed, scale, and scope of urbanization that has fundamentally changed the character of the urban areas. Transcending various physical borders, political jurisdictions, and social spheres, urbanization has become a planetary phenomenon. While it is often assumed that More
More than four decades ago, Henri Lefebvre proposed the radical hypothesis of the complete urbanization of society, demanding a shift in analysis from urban form to urbanization process. Today, the urban represents an increasing and worldwide condition in which political-economic relations are enmeshed. This situation of planetary urbanization More
Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space is one of the most important contemporary contributions to the analysis of urbanization and socio-spatial processes. It is of special importance for the transdisciplinary research in social sciences and architecture. The long-standing engagement of the Chair of Sociology with this More
We are happy to invite you to propose contributions for the upcoming issue trans#39 Comfort. trans magazin is the bi-annual architecture journal of the Department of Architecture at th ETH Zurich. We are looking forward to hearing your proposals in English and German. Please send a brief abstract to trans@arch.ethz.ch by More
This project stemmed from the editors’ shared interest in theories of urban form and a reading seminar they jointly taught at the D-ARCH, ETH Zurich. In their ongoing investigations into questions of form in theory and practice, the relationship between the social and the material emerged again and More
What is the future of the manifold agricultural territories across the world that support contemporary cities? While discussions on urban sustainability have focused on cities and urban regions, many agricultural territories are equally exposed to rapid and far-reaching urban transformation processes with massive social and environmental implications, opening More
This dissertation project sets out to trace the transregional and transmaterial journey of the quatre fleurs, four of the most popular flowers featured in Ottoman decorative arts – the tulip, rose, carnation, and hyacinth – as they made their way from the wild desert landscapes of Central Asia More
Point cloud modeling as a site-specific design method in landscape architecture applied to a case study in Singapore. The design of large-scale urban landscapes often takes place without topographical reference and fails to build a cohesive relation between terrain, land cover and urban space. This research aims to More
The course is organized around core principles of civic design, public health and landscape systems at the scale of the watershed – including riverine and wetland systems, steep slopes subject to erosion, soil stability and soil quality, and varied forests, meadows, wilds and productive landscapes. The overall structure More
Der Klimawandel verändert die Konditionen für die touristischen Regionen in den Alpen. Zahlreiche Speicherkapazitäten für die Produktion von Schnee wurden in den letzten Jahren gebaut oder sind projektiert. Diese artifiziellen Kleinstseen stellen massive Eingriffe in das sensible Gefüge der alpinen Landschaft dar. Das von den Toggenburg Bergbahnen geförderte More
FCL Global addresses the globally significant challenges of expanding urbanisation and aims to create a better understanding of the relationship between the city and its surrounding region, so as to make city-regions more sustainable. Following FCL Global’s Launch Event on 2 March 2021, FCL Global Co-Director Professor Sacha More
Digital technologies have become ubiquitous in current design practice for urban landscapes. Not only does the rapidly increasing extent and resolution of digital data help to study urban systems, but digital technologies have also enabled the inclusion of dynamic conditions in the design process. Understanding these conditions makes More
The «Oberstadt4D» project supports the development planning of Baden’s Oberstadt district. This is to be transformed into a dense, urban residential quarter. The focus of the study is on the future building density, the structure of the buildings and the open spaces, as well as the relationship between More
16. März / 13. April / 11. Mai / 1. Juni, 13:30–15:00 | online. The Wohnforum Talks (formerly BBL) give invited guests and staff of the ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE the opportunity to share current areas of their research and to discuss ideas, concepts and results. The event will take More
8. April 2021, 11:00 | online. This April, the Age-Talk «Sackgeldjobs – Wie funktioniert das?» organised by the Age Foundation will take place on the occasion of the «Jugendjobbörse Winterthur». The guest will be social and cultural anthropologist Dr. Eveline Althaus (ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE), who will More
10 March 2021, 18:00–19:30 | Alexandra Lange: «Looking for Role Models in All the Wrong Places». ETH CASE organizes in collaboration with the Parity- and Diversity Group of DARCH a series of lectures by internationally recognized designers and scholars in the field of urban studies, architecture, urban design, More
7-8 June 2021. Schwerpunkte is a doctoral event organized by doctoral students from several institute at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich: the Institute for History and Theory of Architecture (gta), the Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS) and the Institute of Design and Architecture (IEA). The More
Switzerland’s widely adopted spatial policy rejects the use of new land in favour of promoting the densification of existing buildings or brownfield developments. However, to date there has not been an assessment of the volumetric building reserves that are still available within the current building regulatory framework. This More
Elective Course | Starting 22 February on Mondays, 10:00–12:00 | online. Lecturers: Prof. Hubert Klumpner, Klearjos Eduardo Papanicolaou, Michael Walczak. Giving audiovisual form to the concept of ‘circular economy’, we will encourage students to think about the socio-economic relations that constitute our cities, through the use of digital More
12 May, 10:00–13:00 | Colloquium | online. Invited Lecturers: Professor Dr. Thea Brejzek, School of Archi- tecture, University of Technology, Sydney; Professor Dr. Mari Lending, Oslo School of Architecture and Design; Dr. Matthew Wells, Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta), ETH Zurich.