Architectural Design IV: The University and the City (E.Christ/Ch.Gantenbein)

Abstract

In the second semester we will confront our ideas of an Ideal Architecture with the complexity of a real project in Switzerland. Through visionary and speculative scenarios we ask ourselves what spaces are needed for learning and studying. Following a complementary methodology we will design buildings and infrastructures for the expanding University of Basel.

Objective

Design Studio "Architectural Design IV": The aim of the semester is the independent development of an architectural project that deals with an existing context and contemporary issues. The design comprises all levels of scale, from that of the masterplan to that of the individual building, as well as the formulation of one’s own attitude and position, from the construction of an argument (linguistically as well as architecturally) to its precise expression through the appropriate means of representation. - Context analysis through site visits and various media (collage, photography, sketching). - Use of different design techniques of representation (collage, model, montage). - Dealing with basic architectural principles and their creative implementation in a project, while addressing aspects related to energetic efficiency, climate adaptation and material sustainability. Lecture "Construction IV": Introducing students to different design and making strategies in order to inspire and enrich the development of their own personal approach.

Content

Design Studio "Architectural Design IV": While in the first semester we dealt with the fundamental questions of architectural design and developed our own position on the architecture of the city based on historical references, in the second semester we will confront our ideas of an ideal architecture, as we developed them in Bologna, with the complexity of a real contemporary project in Switzerland. Following a complementary methodology we will design urban spaces and public buildings for the University of Basel. Like many other universities around the world, it expects significant growth in the coming decades. Accordingly, the question arises as to the urban structure and architectural form in which this development should take place. The university was founded in direct relation to the Rhine, around the cathedral. The Kollegiengebäude on Rheinsprung is a historical witness to this early architecture of the university. We propose that the future development of the university should take place on the Rhine, urbanising derelict or underused areas: A modern university campus will be created on the banks of the Rhine, which will relate the urban space to the defining natural element of the river. Questions will arise that need to be clarified in the draft masterplan: A fundamental question concerns the relationship between the city and the university. Is the university part of the city or is it an island within the city, a kind of counter-city? Or even a world of its own outside it - like ETH Hönggerberg? Is the campus an open meadow in the heart of the university? Or is the campus just a metaphor for a collection of institutes? Is the campus even an artificial little city in itself? We ask ourselves what spaces are really needed for learning, studying and research. Is it desirable that students live on campus or perhaps not? We need to find answers to all these questions using visionary and speculative scenarios. By speculating on these questions, we will try to imagine a future University. Critical texts, expert presentations, joint discussions will provide a reasonably solid basis for developing visions and scenarios of tomorrow‘s research and learning spaces. The scenarios will be developed in the first step by using collages. Paradoxically, we do not have to reinvent everything for this visionary architecture. Our extensive studies and the large collection of examples from Bologna, have already provided us with a wide range of formal and functional solutions and principles that could prove useful for envisaging these new spaces. By combining typological, general principles with an individual, specific scenario, we will design a university masterplan for the city and buildings for the university of Basel of tomorrow that, through a real context and a concrete materiality, will translate the vision initially formulated into Real Architecture. Lecture "Construction IV": The overall topic of the lecture series is “Construction – Elements of Architecture”. The lecture series gives the students an insight into different construction and design methods. The lectures are held by two different professorships per semester in a block of 5 lectures in a row and present their individual approaches to design and architecture.

Resources