Angaben zur Professur

Lehrstuhl 

Professur T. Emerson

Typ 

Professur für Architektur und Entwurf

Standort 

HIL

Webseite 

www.emerson.arch.ethz.ch

Assistierende 

Martin Aeschbacher, Lucio Crignola, Lorenza Donati, Sonja Flury, Julius Henkel, Zofia Krupa

Kontakt E-Mail 

henkel@arch.ethz.ch

Angaben zur Entwurfsklasse

Typ 

Entwurf V-IX

Thema 

Time's Arrow

Beschreibung
des Entwurfs-programmes 

Heritage exists because of destruction. Today, with the impacts of climate change affecting everyday life almost everywhere, adaptation is needed as much as preservation. We need to abandon a paradigm that fixes the past in place versus the dynamism of the new and expand the disciplines developed to protect historic buildings to be the new norm, not the exception. How should heritage be preserved when the world is burning and flooding? It is a practical and philosophical question. How does the past adapt? Does the past change with the future? Should heritage be preserved at all or should we not protect all existing structures and the precious resources they contain? Preservation, repair and adaptation could be part of one integrated and holistic architectural movement that breaks down previous distinctions. It would be argued that conservation practices have grown a quiet revolution in radical ecological architecture. Craft traditions, using low carbon, locally sourced materials have been the staple of the conservation industry. The Limmat is a place that combines stability with constant flux. We shall survey a selection of historic buildings along the Limmat, uncover the knowledge of materials and construction contained in the existing as well as places that no longer exist but have left their traces in archives, maps and photographs to produce a palimpsest. We will use today’s heritage as temporal landmarks, fixed positions from which to travel through time to investigate what has been lost alongside what has been protected. We shall map the past onto the future to provoke new ways to adapt without damaging what exists. The survey will be the design the tool to document, excavate and speculate. We shall test how building traditions can be expanded to produce more culturally and climatically resilient places. Heritage practices may yet provide the most fertile and playful ground for the architectural imagination.

Thematische und methodische Schwerpunkte 

Entwurf, Konstruktion, Landschaftsarchitektur, Handwerk

Lernziele 

Under the conceptual framework of heritage conservation as a design method, students will develop architectural projects that adapt protected buildings to future needs through the careful analysis of existing structures and the close study of their historical contexts, construction methods, and roles within the urban fabric. Conceptual ideas of preservation and care, together with practical involvement in material construction, will be synthesized into a coherent architectural design approach. The course aims to foster students’ design skills while expanding their understanding of architectural agency. Students will critically engage with a range of approaches to heritage conservation, and explore their potential for a thoughtful stewardship of existing buildings and resources. Here, historical building practices, long employed in heritage contexts, will serve as precedents for developing resource-conscious, ecological, and regionally specific forms of architecture. With a strong emphasis on materiality and construction, extending from careful observation to hands-on craft engagement, Through research, material experimentation and design work students will develop a critical understanding of contemporary urgencies and the ethical responsibilities of the architect. They will conduct qualitative analyses of sites and buildings through photography, observational drawing, and historical research, learning to synthesize fragmentary observations into broader understandings of place. Particular attention will be given to the ecological impacts of construction, the relationship between architecture and non-renewable resources, durability, and the long-term implications of repair, maintenance, and adaptation. Students will gain awareness of professional regulations while designing buildings, spaces, and landscapes that are accessible and inclusive. Detailed drawings, physical models, and other forms of representation will be used to investigate and communicate constructional concepts, material assemblies, and spatial ideas. They will develop an understanding of their purposes and potentials and how to deploy them effectively throughout the design process. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to work productively with uncertainty and ambiguity, adapting their design approaches as circumstances, findings, and project requirements evolve.

LV-Nr. des Entwurfs 

052-1115-21

Unterrichts-sprache 

English

Arbeitsweise 

Nur Gruppenarbeit

Daten Zwischenkritiken 

Datum Schlusskritik 

Einführungs-veranstaltung 

15.09.2026 HIL F 64 10:00

Zusätzliche Kosten 

CHF 0 (Schätzung, ohne allfällige Kosten für Modellbau und Seminarwoche)

Verfügbare Plätze 

42

Plakat des Entwurfs-programmes 

Plakat ansehen (PDF Datei)