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052-0710-00L 2 Credits BSC , MSC D-BAUG , D-ARCH

Perspectives on Landscape and Urban Transformation II

Perspektiven auf Landschaft und Urbane Transformation II

Lecturers: Prof. Freek Persyn, Lukas Fink
Examiners: Prof. Freek Persyn, Charlotte Schaeben, Lukas Fink
Videorecordings of the lectures in FS25:
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:13:58

Abstract

This is the second semester of the course Perspectives on Landscape and Urban Transformation. We will collectively explore the different roles and professional practices that represent and collectively shape our environment. The course is collectively organized by the Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS), with the NEWROPE chair taking up the coordination.

Objective

Through the different Perspectives on Landscape and Urban Transformation, students will learn to understand the complexity of the (urban) landscape. The various perspectives, readings and key terms will enrich and expand the vocabulary and theoretical knowledge of students. Tools for observation and activation will give students agency to observe and intervene in processes of urban transformation. At the end of the course students will be able to perceive and identify a multitude of actors and professional roles and recognize how they are overlapping, entangled and ever-shifting. Students will practice to textually and visually illustrate complex processes, including the many different stakeholders involved and the notion of time. Students will learn to reflect about and formulate their possible personal positions in relation to others. The formulated learning goals are aligned with the teaching activities, the exercises, and the final evaluation.

Content

The course is titled Perspectives on Landscape and Urban Transformation I+II. By bringing forward the term ‘landscape’ the course stresses the need to put the natural environment and the landscape at the core of urban thinking. Accordingly, every architect requires a basic knowledge of the landscape and nature. Also, to focus on ‘urban transformation’, instead of ‘urban design’ is a conscious choice. It comes out of the recognition that materials, energy and space are finite, which forces us to engage first with what is already there, instead of producing even more new things. This course presents designers as facilitators of complex urban transformation processes. This position requires both an understanding of a great diversity of perspectives and positions constituting a city, and of the different professional roles one can take up to detect and utilize this diversity of – specific and often conflicting – needs, wishes, ambitions and actions. In each lecture one of these perspectives is presented. The list of different perspectives presented in both semesters is deliberately left incomplete, leaving space for students to think of other perspectives, needs and desires that one could take into account when working on a design or (redevelopment) of a space.

Resources

Lecture Notes

Students will be provided with a reader at the first lecture. The reader for the course Perspectives on Landscape and Urban Transformation I+II is a container which holds together a collection of different hand-outs, brochures, and materials. All in all, it is a ‘bag’ and a personal organizer which invites students to fill over the course of the year. It allows them to individually structure and curate the content of the course. It is deliberately designed to be open-ended and to be individually extended and adapted. Towards the end of the semester, students will get a glossary where all key terms and concepts, presented in the various lectures, are combined. Each week students will receive a small leaflet that gives an overview of the individual lecture, as well as an additional reading.All documents can be downloaded via moodle.

Literature

Wöchentliches Handout von Lektüren. Alle Dokumente können über moodle heruntergeladen werden.

Learning Materials (Links)

General Information

Language
German
Levels
BSC , MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
session examination
Mode
written 120 minutes
Aids
None
Die Prüfung findet schriftlich und zeichnerisch statt.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture Perspektiven auf Landschaft und Urbane Transformation II
Die genauen Unterrichtszeiten sind von 18.00 - 20.00 Uhr. The exact lesson times are 18.00 - 20.00h. Die Lehrveranstaltung findet auf Deutsch und Englisch statt. Keine Lehrveranstaltung am 19. März 2026 (Seminarwoche), am3. April 2026(Osterferien), am 1. Mai 2026 (Tag der Arbeit), sowie in den beiden letzten Semesterwochen (vor Schlussabgaben). Die Lehrveranstaltung wird aufgezeichnet. Den Studierenden wird der Zugang zu den Videos erst nach dem Semester als Prüfungsvorbereitung zur Verfügung gestellt.
No time listed 2 h weekly

Offered In