Do we live a houseOr do we house a life?How. Do. We. Live. Together.Do we know HOW we live TOGETHER? Do we know enough HOW we live TOGETHER? HOW do things around us shape the way we live TOGETHER? HOW do we live with the things around us? WHAT are the conditions around us? WHAT makes our habits? HOW do habits change conditions? How do we live TOGETHER?

Everything is transformation. The world we live in is being increasingly densified, not only in terms of what is built but also of ecosystems, social interactions, economic interests, political relations. In this context, we must look seriously at the existing: What qualities are there? What is really obsolete? What can we enhance? How to start with what is already there?

Through the method of public drawing, students learn to observe, analyze, and evaluate a public space. Further, students conceptualize, plan and construct a furniture scale intervention to improve the usability and potential for interaction within the given public space. Research-based design, in the framework of architectural behaviorology is a guiding design principle of the course.

We are focusing on the disused cement factory in Brunnen. The centrality of the area and the numerous unused existing buildings offer the opportunity to integrate public uses and contemporary forms of housing into a condensed overall urban vision. Circular materials and hybrid construction principles will be used to extend the lifespan of the robust existing buildings.

The focus is on transforming vacant, vernacular buildings in Switzerland into accommodation for refugees. In addition to architectural questions of further construction and issues of design and livability, cultural participation in architectural monuments is also a topic of interest.

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The design studio of the Institute for Preservation and Construction History explores the built environment within the context of existing structures, transformation and preservation. Specific site-based strategies are developed that respect historical substance while offering forward-looking architectural responses.

The thematic focus of the semester will be habitation in Zürich. The task will be to respond to the program and selected sites, by developing prototypes for urban habitation and social spaces that consider scalability, life-cycle, and aesthetic appeal.

PATHFINDER 8 is dedicated to the timeless city of ATHENS: its intricate history, morphology, mythology… all canonical spatial parameters suggested by Lefebvre: political, sociological, anthropological, economical, temporal. Our interest will focus both on the banal and the sublime, on habits and exceptions, individual rites and social encounters.

We will focus on the most urgent global issue and a main responsibility for the architectural practice: the climate. We will transform recent architectural landmarks along the railway yard - Zurich’s largest heat island - into resilient, sustainable, low-tech buildings for the climate scenarios expected in 50 years. Following our work on the Prime Tower, we are shifting towards the Europaallee.

Online communication has transformed how people connect, enabling digital communities to form around shared values and interests. While these communities primarily exist online, many also seek physical spaces to meet. The studio explores online culture sharing and how to design physical spaces that represent these communities and give them a presence in the city of Zurich.

Regenerative construction in post-fire Attica, GreeceIn August 2024, wildfires swept through the Varnavas region north of Athens, Greece, destroying approximately 5,000 hectares of land within the Municipality of Marathon alone.