Summer School: Transects Through Alpine Water Landscapes (ETH-EPFL)

Abstract

Through field expeditions, keynote lecture, discussion, workshops, and exchanges with experts, participants will contribute to the production of a synthetic ‘transect’ across a continuous water landscape. The transect operates as a record of relations along a set path, from the Aletsch glacier to the Rhone valley floor, revealing larger territorial logics.

Objective

Learning objectives include the acquisition of foundational conceptual knowledge related to (1) landscape, planning, and systemic design issues linked to water in the Alps, and (2) broader trans-disciplinary challenges facing water landscapes (climate change, agriculture, energy, urban drainage). Participants will also develop observational and analytical skills alongside the methodological tools of field research from architecture, landscape architecture, archaeology, geology, and surveying. The final outcome will be the production of individual field diaries and a synthetic transect discussed through formal presentation and critique.

Content

Water is a finite resource that has increasingly become a major geopolitical issue. In the European context, the Alps hold a strategic position as the ‘water tower of Europe’. Industrialization and urbanization apply significant pressure onto the water ecosystems of alpine valleys. Modifications to the flow of rivers can significantly impact downstream regions, across very extensive areas. Thus, concerted landscape management and urban planning is essential, especially as natural and man-made water systems are affected by climate change. The transect along the Massa river, from the Aletsch glacier to the Rhone valley floor, presents archetypal water management issues and opportunities. The transect is thought of as an autonomous territorial entity, which could be used as an abstract model for future systemic planning. Fieldwork will be employed as a form of direct engagement with the landscape to document key infrastructure, such as irrigation channels, dams, and drainage systems. It will highlight specific urbanization processes and their associated ecosystem services (water retention, habitat provision, recreation). The objective is to develop a spatial, empirical, and material understanding of the landscape.

Resources