Angaben zur Professur

Lehrstuhl 

Assistenzprofessur M. Topalovic

Typ 

Assistenzprofessur für Architektur und Territorialplanung

Standort 

ONA G 35

Webseite 

www.topalovic.arch.ethz.ch

Assistierende 

Hans Hortig, Karoline Kostka, Metaxia Markaki, Thaïs de Roquemaurel, Ferdinand Pappenheim

Kontakt E-Mail 

markaki@arch.ethz.ch

Angaben zur Entwurfsklasse

Typ 

Entwurf V-IX

Thema 

COMMUNES (Le Village Suisse Revisited)

Beschreibung
des Entwurfs-programmes 

For centuries the commune has been the archetype of Swiss existence*—the basic cell, the atom of its territory. Still today, the commune (and the village) represent the basic spatial scale and order at which most traditional Swiss values are anchored (autonomy, neutrality, direct democracy, pragmatism, flair for order, etc). This miniature territorial universe is still readable in the map of Switzerland with remarkable, if gradually eroding clarity. But in the age globalisation, many small structures, including the commune and its village, seem to loose their importance, or change beyond recognition. Urbanisation and globalisation produce structures in the territory at much larger scales than the commune: in fact, often too large to be comprehended. This is a vague space of flows of resources, people and capital, whose dimensions span the entire planet. Precisely for this reason, in this semester we will consider the meaning of locality. Of course, even in the time of globalisation, the power to bring about change in the territory lies not only in the hands of states, corporations and other “big players”; the “local” should have a role to play too. But, on the other hand, what does “local community” still mean, and what can it still produce? Can the ideas of communal life in general, and of the Swiss commune in particular, still have currency in the present time? Can projects of making things common, and of sharing resources and labor, still be articulated in meaningful ways? Could communal visions still have consequences, for social relations, for the built space, and for the organisation of territory? In this semester, we will embrace the power of “smallness”—the scale of a place and of a community of people. Travelling to Lac Léman, from the lakeshores to the Jura and the Alps, we will find Swiss (and French) “countryside” in all of its typical forms—from the communal cell of the Mittelland, to the regular fabric of the river valleys, and to wooded alpine villages. We will study the histories and the present of these communes. We want to propose territorial and architectonic projects that take the crucial experiences of the traditional commune—social solidarity and common property—and harness them for the present and the future. We want to design communes and villages as our “universes in miniature”—our miniature cities and urban neighborhoods. Not anymore generic and contextless urbanisation of the periphery, but vital places still based on a relation to the land. * (Marcel Meili, Switzerland, An Urban Portrait, book 2)

Thematische und methodische Schwerpunkte 

Entwurf, Staedtebau, Landschaftsarchitektur, Modellbau, Planung

Lernziele 

The semester consists of an investigative journey into the territory and intensive studio sessions with fellow students, the teaching team and guests. We value team spirit, intellectual and design curiosity and high commitment for the issues at hand. Architecture of Territory is looking for avid travellers and team workers with high motivation and independent position. Architecture of Territory's approach enables students to work with a wide range of methods and sources pertaining to territory, including one-to-one ethnographic exploration of the territory, discussions of key texts and writing exercises, study of precedent projects, guest lectures, group debates, model building, large scale drawing techniques, book making, sessions on photography and visual art. We will start the semester by learning from history and from selected projects, while practicing a few important skills: drawing, model-making, photographing. We will then travel into the territory to find our motives and the ways of looking. Each student group will create their own project brief, and will receive our unreserved support in developing their project. We hope to have an intensive time and to be surprised by our discoveries.

LV-Nr. des Entwurfs 

051-1148-17

Zusätzliche integrierte Disziplin(en) 

Planung

Unterrichts-sprache 

English

Arbeitsweise 

Group work in teams of 2 students

Daten Zwischenkritiken 

11-12.04.2017

Datum Schlusskritik 

30-31.05.2017

Einführungs-veranstaltung 

21.02.2017, 10:00 am, ONA

Zusätzliche Kosten 

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

Verfügbare Plätze 

18

Plakat des Entwurfs-programmes 

Plakat ansehen (PDF Datei)

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