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052-0801-00L 2 Credits BSC , DS , MSC D-GESS , D-ARCH , D-BAUG
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Global History of Urban Design I

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete, Dr. Nicole La Hausse de Lalouviere
VVZ CR 3.6

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:30:28

Abstract

This course focuses on the history of the design of cities, as well as on the ideas, processes and actors that engender and lead their development and transformation. The history of urban design will be approached as a cross-cultural field of knowledge that integrates scientific, economic and technical innovation as well as social and cultural advances.

Objective

The lectures deal mainly with the definition of urban design as an independent discipline, which maintains connections with other disciplines (politics, sociology, geography) that are concerned with the transformation of the city. The aim is to make students conversant with the multiple theories, concepts and approaches of urban design as they were articulated throughout time in a variety of cultural contexts, thus offering a theoretical framework for students' future design work.

Content

In the first semester the genesis of the objects of study, the city, urban culture and urban design, are introduced and situated within their intellectual, cultural and political contexts: 18.09.2025 Lecture 1.01: The History and Theory of the City as Project 25.09.2025 Lecture 1.02: Of Rituals, Water and Mud: The Urban Revolution in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley 02.10.2025 Lecture 1.03: The Idea of the Polis: Rome, Greece and Beyond 09.10.2025 Lecture 1.04: The Long Middle Ages and their Counterparts: From the Towns of Tuscany to Delhi 16.10.2025 Lecture 1.05: Between Ideal and Laboratory: Of European Renaissance Principles and Laws of the Indies 23.10.2025 Seminar week 30.10.2025 Lecture 1.06: Of Absolutism and Enlightenment: The Norms and Forms of the Baroque City 06.11.2025 Lecture 1.07: The City of Labour: Company Towns as Cross-Cultural Phenomenon 13.11.2025 Lecture 1.08: Garden Cities of Tomorrow: From the Global North to the Global South and Back Again 20.11.2025 No lecture 27.11.2025 Lecture 1.09: Civilized Wilderness and City Beautiful: The Park Movement of Olmsted and The Urban Plans of Burnham 04.12.2025 Lecture 1.10: The Extension of the European City: From the Viennese Ringstrasse to Amsterdam Zuid and New Delhi

Resources

Lecture Notes

Prior to each lecture a chapter of the reader (Skript) will be made available through the webpage of the Chair. These chapters will provide an introduction to the lecture, the basic visual references of each lecture, key dates and events, as well as references to the compulsory and additional reading.

Literature

There are three books that will function as main reference literature throughout the course: -Ching, Francis D. K, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. Hoboken: Wiley, 2017. -Ingersoll, Richard. World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. -James-Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014. These books will be reserved for consultation in the ETH Baubibliothek, and will not be available for individual loans. A list of further recommended literature will be found within each chapter of the reader (Skript).

Learning Materials (Links)

General Information

Language
English
Levels
BSC , DS , MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
session examination
Mode
written 60 minutes
Aids
None

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Global History of Urban Design I
No course 20. - 24. October (seminar week) and in the last two semester weeks (final critiques).
  • Thu 13:45-15:30 (HIL E 3)
2 h weekly

Offered In