Architecture of Territory
Milica Topalović
Milica Topalović
FS2025
Final Reviews:
Saturday, 22 February 21.58–21.58
HS2024
FS2024
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 29 May 09.30–16.00
Guests:
Ethel Baraona Pohl, Illias Hischier, Vera Kaps, Sascha Roesler, and Rosario Talevi
Location:
ONA G35 (Second Floor), Oerlikon
Event
Spring Semester 2024
KRAFTWERK SCHWEIZ
Final Review
We warmly invite you to join the final review of the design studio Kraftwerk Schweiz: Investigating Territories of Energy Transition.
Our guests will be Ethel Baraona Pohl, architect and editor, dpr-barcelona; Illias Hischier, senior researcher, chair of architecture and building systems, ETH Zurich; Vera Kaps, researcher and educational developer, ETH Zurich; Sascha Roesler, professor, urbanisation and urban environments, USI Mendrisio; and Rosario Talevi, architect, Floating University, Soft Agency.
HS2023
Final Reviews:
Tuesday, 19 December 09.00–17.30
Guests:
Cäcilia von Arb, Daniel Bosshard, Sven Braunsdorf, Eva-Marie Meemken, Matthias Probst, Christian Schmid, Ute Schneider, Deane Simpson, Meritxell Vaquer
Location:
ZAZ BELLERIVE (Zentrum Architektur Zürich)
Höschgasse 3
8008 Zürich
Höschgasse 3
8008 Zürich
For more information on the final review click here.
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
AGRITOPIA—Building a Model for Zürich-Nord
Our first concrete utopia will be an AGRITOPIA. The recurrent focus on agriculture in this studio is not accidental—we believe that the crisis of our imagination is reinforced by the separation of the urban and the rural in our culture, and by continuing to think the future only in terms of urban life disconnected from the land and nature. To imagine a different urban future for Zürich, we will work on agricultural territories that lie at the city’s edges. They are an example of periurban landscapes which form vital support to cities with water sources, clean air, various materials, land for food and energy production. Only by radically reimagining territorial organisation and land use practices in ways that are currently often disqualified as utopian and impossible, can we divert ongoing tendencies of agricultural intensification accompanied by soil degradation, water pollution and biodiversity loss. Designing sustainable biophysical relationships reflects in urban life itself, and will enable us to address issues of consumption, of commodification of land and labour, and even of housing crisis.
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
AGRITOPIA—Building a Model for Zürich-Nord
Our first concrete utopia will be an AGRITOPIA. The recurrent focus on agriculture in this studio is not accidental—we believe that the crisis of our imagination is reinforced by the separation of the urban and the rural in our culture, and by continuing to think the future only in terms of urban life disconnected from the land and nature. To imagine a different urban future for Zürich, we will work on agricultural territories that lie at the city’s edges. They are an example of periurban landscapes which form vital support to cities with water sources, clean air, various materials, land for food and energy production. Only by radically reimagining territorial organisation and land use practices in ways that are currently often disqualified as utopian and impossible, can we divert ongoing tendencies of agricultural intensification accompanied by soil degradation, water pollution and biodiversity loss. Designing sustainable biophysical relationships reflects in urban life itself, and will enable us to address issues of consumption, of commodification of land and labour, and even of housing crisis.
FS2023
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 31 May 09.30–17.00
Guests:
Taneha Bacchin, Markus Krieger, Bernhard Koch, Víctor Muñoz Sanz, and Miriam Zehnder
Location:
ONA G35 (second floor)
For more information on the final review click here.
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
AGRARIAN PROJECT — Commoning Land and Labour around Zurich
Agricultural land is all around. Nearly half of the surface of the Canton of Zurich is dedicated to agriculture, yet the traditional Swiss pastoral has all but disappeared. Non-agricultural economies and ways of life have spread across the former rural areas. Much of the landscape has been homogenised through large scale commercial farming based on industrial monocultures supported by seasonal labour. Right next to agricultural fields—and seemingly a world apart—are areas of housing and working marked by rising rents, exorbitant prices of land and real-estate, a pressure on urban fabric to grow and on people to commute further. The studio wants to interrogate this hidden and pervasive partitioning of the Swiss territory resulting in the divide between the so-called rural and the urban: Can we weave the seemingly disconnected worlds of agriculture and urban living together? Can this proximity between the City and the Land lead to more affordable and better housing and to healthier ecologies? Can we imagine cooperatives and commons on farms and in villages that promise optimistic and attractive ways of living and working in the countryside? Can these models promote economies of care and reciprocity sheltered from the market? Can they help heal the broken food system?
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
AGRARIAN PROJECT — Commoning Land and Labour around Zurich
Agricultural land is all around. Nearly half of the surface of the Canton of Zurich is dedicated to agriculture, yet the traditional Swiss pastoral has all but disappeared. Non-agricultural economies and ways of life have spread across the former rural areas. Much of the landscape has been homogenised through large scale commercial farming based on industrial monocultures supported by seasonal labour. Right next to agricultural fields—and seemingly a world apart—are areas of housing and working marked by rising rents, exorbitant prices of land and real-estate, a pressure on urban fabric to grow and on people to commute further. The studio wants to interrogate this hidden and pervasive partitioning of the Swiss territory resulting in the divide between the so-called rural and the urban: Can we weave the seemingly disconnected worlds of agriculture and urban living together? Can this proximity between the City and the Land lead to more affordable and better housing and to healthier ecologies? Can we imagine cooperatives and commons on farms and in villages that promise optimistic and attractive ways of living and working in the countryside? Can these models promote economies of care and reciprocity sheltered from the market? Can they help heal the broken food system?
HS2022
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 21 December 09.00–18.00
Guests:
Elke Beyer, Naomi Hanakata, Lindsay Howe, Tim Klauser, Markus Krieger, Sascha Roesler, Boštjan Vuga
Location:
ONA G35 (second floor)
For more information on the final review click here.
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE — Energy and Territory in the Rheinland
“The energy transition must be about new forms of collective commoning.” Ashley Dawson, 2020
Who owns and controls the energy we use? The energy crisis looming over Europe this fall as a consequence of the Ukraine war has made it clear that European geopolitics and power asymmetries have been built on fossil fuels. Yet the discussions around energy transition usually revolve around reducing carbon emissions through technofix solutions, without questioning the broader politics of energy. The promise of energy transition, that renewable energies could be decentral, ecological and above all democratic systems, is rarely explored. To understand the potentials of such transition, we need to approach energy as a vital agent producing the territory. Does energy production have to lead to ecosystem devastation and enhance social inequity, or can it unlock opportunities for a different future? Can architects and territorial designers envision and design a more democratic, equitable and ecological energy landscape?
To see more information on the design studio and to see the student projects click here.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE — Energy and Territory in the Rheinland
“The energy transition must be about new forms of collective commoning.” Ashley Dawson, 2020
Who owns and controls the energy we use? The energy crisis looming over Europe this fall as a consequence of the Ukraine war has made it clear that European geopolitics and power asymmetries have been built on fossil fuels. Yet the discussions around energy transition usually revolve around reducing carbon emissions through technofix solutions, without questioning the broader politics of energy. The promise of energy transition, that renewable energies could be decentral, ecological and above all democratic systems, is rarely explored. To understand the potentials of such transition, we need to approach energy as a vital agent producing the territory. Does energy production have to lead to ecosystem devastation and enhance social inequity, or can it unlock opportunities for a different future? Can architects and territorial designers envision and design a more democratic, equitable and ecological energy landscape?
Teaching
FS2022
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 1 June 09.15–17.30
Guests:
Location:
ONA G35
VILLAGE LIFE—BEYOND THE URBAN-RURAL DIVIDE
Villages have lost most of their historic features. Peasant populations and traditional farming no longer exist. In Switzerland the share of people working in agriculture has plunged from around 60 % in 1800 to 2.5 % today, and to only 1.1 % in the Canton of Zurich. Non-agrarian economies and ways of life have spread across former rural areas. It appears that the urban-rural dichotomy has collapsed and that villages are becoming more and more urban. Yet village life continues to provoke imagination, and to promise an alternative path, an antidote to life in cities.
In the Canton of Zurich there are 162 communes, most of which have less than 10,000 inhabitants and are thus considered “villages.” This statistical approach obscures the amazing diversity, vitality and the specificity of small settlements around Zurich. From the slow food valley around Bachs, to the architectural marvels of Zumikon, and the “Dorf der Milliardäre” in Schindellegi, the key questions guiding our explorations will be: What does young urban generation think of a life outside “the city?” What are the conditions that attract or repel (young) people to village life? Can the perceived disadvantages of villages (lacking cultural activities, a conservative environment, and long distances) be countered through new ideas and projects? Can we recover ideas of social solidarity and of commoning resources and labour? Can we envision different patterns of movement and exchange between places, beyond commuting between “centres and peripheries?” Can a village be seen as a neighbourhood in a larger territorial constellation that extends beyond “the city?”
To see all students' projects, visit our website!
Villages have lost most of their historic features. Peasant populations and traditional farming no longer exist. In Switzerland the share of people working in agriculture has plunged from around 60 % in 1800 to 2.5 % today, and to only 1.1 % in the Canton of Zurich. Non-agrarian economies and ways of life have spread across former rural areas. It appears that the urban-rural dichotomy has collapsed and that villages are becoming more and more urban. Yet village life continues to provoke imagination, and to promise an alternative path, an antidote to life in cities.
In the Canton of Zurich there are 162 communes, most of which have less than 10,000 inhabitants and are thus considered “villages.” This statistical approach obscures the amazing diversity, vitality and the specificity of small settlements around Zurich. From the slow food valley around Bachs, to the architectural marvels of Zumikon, and the “Dorf der Milliardäre” in Schindellegi, the key questions guiding our explorations will be: What does young urban generation think of a life outside “the city?” What are the conditions that attract or repel (young) people to village life? Can the perceived disadvantages of villages (lacking cultural activities, a conservative environment, and long distances) be countered through new ideas and projects? Can we recover ideas of social solidarity and of commoning resources and labour? Can we envision different patterns of movement and exchange between places, beyond commuting between “centres and peripheries?” Can a village be seen as a neighbourhood in a larger territorial constellation that extends beyond “the city?”
To see all students' projects, visit our website!
HS2021
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 22 December 09.30–16.00
Guests:
Peter Bach, André Bideau, Sabine von Fischer, Vesna Jovanovic, Marie-Anne Lerjen, Christian Schmid
NOTHING BUT FLOWERS: NATURE AND TERRITORY IN ZURICH
The review will be held in hybrid mode. Visit us in the ONA building in Oerlikon on the 2nd floor, room G35
or join the livestream via zoom: https://ethz.zoom.us/j/62173886698
To see all the students projects, visit the Studio website
For more information, see the Architecture of Territory website
The review will be held in hybrid mode. Visit us in the ONA building in Oerlikon on the 2nd floor, room G35
or join the livestream via zoom: https://ethz.zoom.us/j/62173886698
To see all the students projects, visit the Studio website
For more information, see the Architecture of Territory website
FS2021
HS2020
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 16 December 09.00–17.30
Guests:
Sandra Bartoli, Teresa Galí-Izard, Sébastien Marot, Christian Schmid
NEW ECOLOGIES
Soil, Water, Labour
To see all the students projects, visit topalovic.studio
To join the livestream of our Final Review on Zoom, click here.
For more information, see the Architecture of Territory website or visit the Studio Europe platform
Soil, Water, Labour
To see all the students projects, visit topalovic.studio
To join the livestream of our Final Review on Zoom, click here.
For more information, see the Architecture of Territory website or visit the Studio Europe platform
Seminar week
Seminar Week HS2020 — Agricultural Pioneers
During the seminar week we focused on experimental and pioneering agriculture. We explored the field by foot, by bike, by bus, or by train. We got to know the protagonists that research in the field of agricultural sciences, experimental farmers that work in the fields, and environmental activists, who fight against climate change and food waste. The days of joint activities were followed by days of individual exploration of research topics at each student team's site. The seminar week was integrated and part of the studio NEW ECOLOGIES — Soil, Water, Labour.
FS2020
Final Reviews:
Wednesday, 27 May 09.00–17.00
Guests:
Simon Battisti, Ahmed Belkhodja, Adelina Greca, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Elva Margariti, Denada Veizaj
ALBANIA
Project on the Future of the Countryside
To join the livestream of our Final Review click here.
More information:
Student projects on Miro
Studio Europe platform
Architecture of Territory website
Project on the Future of the Countryside
To join the livestream of our Final Review click here.
More information:
Student projects on Miro
Studio Europe platform
Architecture of Territory website
