Angaben zur Professur

Lehrstuhl 

Professur F. Persyn

Typ 

Professur für Architektur und Städtebau

Standort 

ONA

Webseite 

www.persyn.arch.ethz.ch

Assistierende 

Juan Barcia Mas, Ellena Ehrl, Sophia Garner, Michiel van Iersel

Kontakt E-Mail 

barciamas@arch.ethz.ch

Angaben zur Entwurfsklasse

Typ 

Entwurf V-IX

Thema 

Studio Albania - Design Agency

Beschreibung
des Entwurfs-programmes 

How do cities, landscapes, and territories continually come into being? Who gives agency to designers, and under what conditions? Planning agencies are tasked with organizing land use and spatial development, translating rules and regulations into environments meant to be fair, democratic, shared, and capable of sustaining life in close proximity. Yet planning alone does not make life thrive. Cities, landscapes, and territories come alive through use, appropriation, conflict, care, and imagination. It is up to each of us to participate, to contribute, and at times to challenge or subvert what it means to live together. We are not just inhabitants of these environments; we are their agents. Within Europe, Albania currently offers a particularly interesting case of rapid urban transformation under shifting planning regimes. Since the 1990s, the country has emerged from its isolation under communism to become a hub for tourism, architecture, and culture. Under communism, urban development was governed by centralized planning and collective land ownership. With the collapse of the regime, this system abruptly gave way to private property and market-driven development, producing a period of legal uncertainty, informal construction, and spatial chaos. In response, the National Planning Agency has sought to reassert planning authority and impose order, at times through forceful measures such as the demolition of illegal buildings. Meanwhile, Tirana’s skyline is being reshaped by international architects, and the country attracts record numbers of visitors. Caught between regulation, speculation, and rapid growth, Albania now faces the challenge of modernizing while preserving social, environmental, and human-scale life. During the spring semester, we will explore the agency required to navigate and direct this turbulent transition by examining, assuming, and reinterpreting the various roles and actions of the National Territorial Planning Agency and the Territorial Development Agency of Albania. We will begin by analysing and reconstructing different organisational models and work methods of a wide range of development and planning agencies in Switzerland. From these references, students will develop their own agencies, defining their agendas, methods, tools, and modes of operation, as well as the ways in which different stakeholders participate in planning processes. These agencies will then be tested in the context of specific sites in Albania, reflecting the diverse conditions under which the two Albanian territorial agencies operate. Case studies include the highway connecting Tirana and Durrës, along which urbanization has rapidly intensified; the touristifying coastline and the island of Sazan, recently subject to international real-estate interest; the Shkumbin River; and sites of communist-era heritage such as the former metallurgical factory in Elbasan. The agencies and their engagements with the sites will be presented and discussed during a field trip to Albania midway through the semester. Back in Zurich, students will translate their agency frameworks into concrete spatial and design proposals for the selected Albanian sites. The projects will culminate in the spatialization of the reinterpreted agencies in the form of large-scale interventions within Tirana’s Lake Park, responding to its spatial, political, and programmatic conditions. Lake Park will serve both as the site for the proposed new headquarters of the two agencies and as the main venue of the upcoming 2026 Bread & Heart architecture festival. The studio includes two stays in Albania: a first field trip focused on research and analysis, and a second optional stay in the context of the Bread & Heart architecture festival, taking place from June 3 to 5. During the first trip, the Lake Park and selected case studies will be explored and discussed on site. During the second trip, the interventions will be brought to Albania and assembled as part of the international Bread & Heart Festival. The final presentation in Zurich will serve as a rehearsal for the festival. We look forward to working with you and renegotiating our agency as architects.

Thematische und methodische Schwerpunkte 

Entwurf, Staedtebau, Landschaftsarchitektur, Handwerk

Lernziele 

PRACTICING ARCHITECTURE TODAY Explore what it could mean to practice architecture beyond designing buildings, by shaping processes, facilitating dialogue, and amplifying a multiplicity of voices. Develop a critical understanding of the conventions of architectural practice and experiment with playful ways of challenging, unlearning, or replacing them. ENGAGING WITH SITES AND PRACTITIONERS Work in complex environments in Zurich, Switzerland, and across Europe, engaging directly with sites and their actors. Collaborate with a wide range of spatial practitioners and learn from their diverse methods of perceiving, assessing, and reshaping environments. Treat the ONA building and its surroundings as fertile ground for experiments and real-life encounters with different users. LEARNING TOOLS AND METHODS Learn to diagram, sequence, and activate new design methods and tools. Develop, present, and perform 1:1 scale prototypes and spatial mock-ups that respond to real-life challenges. THINKING CRITICALLY Engage with contemporary discourses in architecture, urbanism, and beyond — including ecological thought, spatial justice, communal practices, gender and postcolonial theory. Develop precise language and communication tools for argumentation, positioning, and reflection. COMMUNICATING AND COLLABORATING Acquire skills to communicate and collaborate effectively across disciplines and practices. Contribute to a collaborative studio culture by taking responsibility for collective debates, workshops, and shared activities.

LV-Nr. des Entwurfs 

052-1122-26

Unterrichts-sprache 

English

Arbeitsweise 

Nur Gruppenarbeit

Daten Zwischenkritiken 

11.03 & 29.04; Fieldtrip 29.03 - 01.04

Datum Schlusskritik 

27.05; Festival 03.06 - 05.06

Einführungs-veranstaltung 

17.02, 9.00 in Zurich

Zusätzliche Kosten 

CHF 200 (Schätzung, ohne allfällige Kosten für Modellbau und Seminarwoche)

Verfügbare Plätze 

42

Plakat des Entwurfs-programmes 

Plakat ansehen (PDF Datei)