VVZ API is not affiliated with ETH Zurich. Data might be outdated or incorrect. Please view the official ETHZ Vorlesungsverzeichnis for binding information.
Module 2: Field Design Trip
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:30:17
Abstract
The physical, in-person field design trip is a central element of the CAS. It takes about one week and visits a DRRS-partnering Living Systems Lab (LSL), a long-term relation with place, curated by a so-called “weaver.” This CAS#3 field design trip is to Mallorca, where we will meet our co-guide, Daniel Christian Wahl, DRRS lecturer and regional weaver.
Objective
The field design trip is the main physical element of the hybrid CAS. It serves multiple functions and is usually planned and offered close to the beginning of the CAS. By meeting in person, in real life, the CAS cohort gets to know each other and, through experiential didactics, quickly forms a cohesive group with interpersonal trust - which is of key importance for the then following, mostly virtual work in the next modules. The trip is named field design trip since it is not only a field visit but a design trip, where our group becomes part of long-term relation-building processes with place, people, projects, and the inner self (=weaving). We contribute by actively asking questions, engaging in dialogues, getting dirty hands by offering some manual labor to local people, learning from local cultures, and contributing with our cohort’s rich, diverse global experience. We physically embody the place through activities like cycling, hiking, and snorkeling, and also through still activities that connect inner and outer nature, such as a council, rite of passage, and solo ritual. We map the bioregion, collect drone images for photogrammetry as well as “warm” data, talk to people, and engage in dialogic processes with the aim of relating theories with science, design, embodied practices, to the place specificities. Through all modules, the course integrates three high-level domains of learning competencies—cognitive (knowledge-based), affective (emotion-based), and psychomotor (action-based). In other words, the course integrates science and engineering with designerly techniques and approaches through systems thinking and sensing, building metacognition as of self- and process-awareness, relating these through embodied practices to place-specific real-world challenges in complex systems, accompanying the learning process with an inner development lens — interconnected with the individual Quest projects of the participants. The rapidly developing applications of AI with positive and potentially critical impacts and side effects are intrinsic part of the learning goals, as is the integration of “warm” data, such as intuition. The learning objective assessment starts with the preceding MOOC and its final multiple-choice quiz. To pass the MOOC, 70 percent of the questions must be answered correctly across all modules. During the CAS, active attendance in the live sessions with experts is required for each module. In addition, the Quest’s progress is monitored continuously in the peer-learning process and through individual discussions with the lecturers. Students are asked to contribute at least once per week during the course to the DRRS virtual community on Mighty Networks with internal-public sharing, commenting, or liking. The final learning and progress assessment step is submitting a Quest delivery, which - through all three DRRS CAS’ - builds the base for the Master design thesis, for those taking the full MAS in Regenerative Systems program.
Content
We learn about co-design, weaving, bio-regional regenerative economies, and how we can contribute as part of systemic interventions in the specifics of Mallorca and the Balearic Archipelago. We physically engage and explore - embody - and connect with place, people, and our inner selves, by i.e., cycling a Systemic Cycles tour over multiple days, sweating and activating all senses. We visit selected projects, such as marine protected areas where we get to snorkel and dive with local instructors; we meet local farmers and discuss (non) traditional land use today and in a changing climate. We meet local entrepreneurs who restore farmland, or who develop marine-algae-based filaments to 3D print. We fly a drone, collect photogrammetry images, compute point clouds, develop a terrain model, and print this for dialogic permaculture planning. We experience council practices and a rite of passage ritual with a solo night (for those who chose to) outside in the Tramuntana mountain range. Some of the below-described scientific, engineering, designerly, embodied, and inner methods are demonstrated and experienced in practice, during this field trip. The forming group cohesion and mutual trust building, practicing organic emergence in a setting the DRRS instructors/guides are deeply familiar with, provide valuable opportunities and build the foundations for meaningful, joyful learning processes in the hybrid CAS course setting.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- WBZ
- Frequency
- Every two years
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Registration & Places
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise | Module 2: Field Design Trip | No time listed | 112 h semesterly |
Offered In
-
CAS in Regenerative Systems: Systemic Design (Offered only in the Autumn Semester (two-yearly).)