Architectural Design V-IX: Curiosity - Campus Explorations (A.Fonteyne)

Abstract

Curiosity. A visceral wish to learn about something, a radical interest that takes root in the exertion of cura: of deep, selfless care and attention. This semester, we will allow ourselves to be guided by curiosity, by the desire to find out more about what we think we know so well.

Objective

Method At the chair, we are interested in creating an environment where everyone works on their own projects, but at the same time the whole group engages in a larger discussion on the main topic. This requires everyone to be able to - develop skills to debate and learn how to contribute to the quality of the work of peers; - develop skills on how to document, draw, build, represent and communicate findings to different audiences. Collaboration ETH Real Estate To benefit from working in a context of realistic urgencies, students will - gather in-depth knowledge on ETH real estate politics through engaging with the research of the past semesters; - present and discuss their project with the external partners; - take a position on architecture as a representation of a federal institution and reflect on its role in the city; - develop a position that looks beyond the here and now, reflecting on how to design for the next generations. Adaptive Re-Use Working with existing buildings, requires to look beyond what one thinks one knows already. We will develop an approach of attentiveness to - identify material as well as immaterial strengths, weaknesses and potentialities of existing buildings and neighbourhoods through inhabitation and close observation; - explore how to document and represent existing and changing spatial conditions when reusing a building through different media, including drawing, modelmaking, calculations on energy consumption, writing; - formulate and reformulate key design questions; - gain confidence in the design process with an ability to be critical and conscious, bringing all the aspects of the semester together in a personal and critical discourse.

Content

Curiosity. A visceral wish to learn about something, a radical interest that takes root in the exertion of cura: of deep, selfless care and attention. This semester, we will allow ourselves to be guided by curiosity, by the desire to find out more about what we think we know so well. Real Estate. In an ongoing collaboration with ETH Real Estate, we will focus on the Hönggerberg Campus, a modernist utopia built on the edge of town, sprawled on top of a hill. Masterplan after masterplan, the ETH continues to expand an already opulent real estate portfolio. Rather than building more, we will pause to reflect on the campus as it stands and engage with the users who occupy it. Through an understanding of neighbourhood, architecture, comfort and social interaction, we will explore incentives to make better use of the spaces we already have. Campus. To maintain its position in world university rankings, the ETH strongly relies on the quality of its infrastructure and buildings, and on the abundance of space it can offer to its staff and students. Meanwhile, the recently launched ETH Net Zero programme positions ETH Zurich as a pioneer and role model for decarbonisation and sustainability, where the climate neutrality of university operations becomes a shared responsibility of all ETH members. Within this top-down and bottom-up bind, we ask: how can we define our shared ideals and create meaningful incentives for everyone to get involved, to trust in the space we have instead of ceaselessly adding new square meters? Moving in. Together, we will move into HCP, the stepped building at the southern edge of campus. From there, we seek to engage users across ETH Hönggerberg. We will investigate architectural scenarios beyond the current quantity-oriented attitude. Large scale architectural models will become our tools to engage with different users and with ETH Real Estate, for architectural quality to become the incentive to give up redundant square meters and collectively work on spatial sustainability. This semester we will be making space for architecture within real estate, advocating a cultural shift beyond the masterplan, and an attitude that affirms that "the next big thing will be a lot of small things”.

Resources