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Architectural Design V-IX: Discomfort Zone (GD A. Cugola)
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:13:58
Abstract
The thematic focus of the semester will be habitation in Zürich. The task will be to respond to the program and selected sites, by developing prototypes for urban habitation and social spaces that consider scalability, life-cycle, and aesthetic appeal.
Objective
- Identifying formats of collective practices - Developing individual research trajectories - Exploring nonlinear design methodologies
Content
The human is inherently a technological animal; its bidirectional relationship with technology mediates its existence and shapes the environments that it inhabits. The trajectory of technological change suggests that our place in the future is precarious. This reality calls for a critical understanding of how emerging technologies generate new orders of knowledge as well as necessitate a redefinition of the mandates and values that shape disciplinary practice. For architecture, this means interrogating design as a technique through which humans create and interact with the material world, and asking if design serves intended needs or if it facilitates further reliance on technology. Addressing this requires not only examining the manifestations of technology by design, but also questioning the basic assumptions of designing. The In/Appropriate Technology semester challenges the conventional design process by emphasizing critical, open, and exploratory design methods. Through generative AI, physical modeling, and curatorial practices—combined with diverse formats for shared reflection—the approach aims to reach what could be described as collective design intelligence. The thematic focus of the semester will be habitation in Zürich. The task will be to respond to the program and selected sites, by developing prototypes for urban habitation and social spaces that consider scalability, life-cycle, and aesthetic appeal. These prototypes will follow the loose principles of capable structures, a type of building designed for robustness and adaptability without compromising the stability of its image in the collective imagination. Parallel to the design studio, individual and group work will take place across two adjunct research tracks with inputs from invited guests. These tracks will focus on revealing the limits and characteristics of technology while investigating the potentials of collective agency in shaping technique and formulating critical positions. If architecture is considered both primordial and technological, one might ask: - What would happen if reliance on non-vital technologies were drastically reduced? - How might more sophisticated relationships with the remaining technologies be developed? - Can technology be considered neutral, or are the agendas of its creation inherently embedded within it? - In what ways do technological dependencies influence the design process? - What values should technologies embody to reflect diverse cultural and social contexts? - Can collective efforts alter the ways in which technologies shape the production of design knowledge?
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- BSC
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| exercise | Entwurf V-IX: topic ??? (GD N. N.) |
|
16 h weekly |
| exercise | Architectural Design V-IX: Discomfort Zone (GD A. Cugola) |
|
16 h weekly |