Martina Voser was a Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich from 2021. At the end of 2023, she was appointed Full Professor of Landscape Architecture. She talks about the profound changes that the Swiss landscape is facing and how her chair can develop the necessary transformation processes together with More
The Swiss energy system is set to undergo a significant transformation through the integration of photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy installations, as outlined in the Energy Strategy 2050. However, these installations impact public perception of the landscape and may lead to conflicts with various socio-economic or ecological interests. More
Professor Hubert Klumpner’s chair designed the first AI-supported 4D model for Sarajevo. It takes spatial and temporal dimension into account in urban planning and was the basis for public hearings. “To map the complexity of the city, we need new methods, processes and technologies,” says Klumpner.
SPUR launches a comprehensive toolbox for flood risk mitigation in refugee settlements: www.humanitarian-risk.org. The toolbox includes a GIS tool to create flood risk maps and mitigation strategies, a compendium of flood risk mitigation measures and a participatory risk mapping methodology. We are thankful for the support of our More
At a time of global anthropogenic paroxysms, initiatives for urban transition are multiplying to ensure quality and resilience of life in cities. In particular, public open space holds immense potential for rapid adaptation to mitigate the severe risks to human health arising from global warming, pollution and pandemics. More
Der Aktionsplan Biodiversität soll den Zustand der Biodiversität in der Schweiz verbessern. Ein wichtiger Faktor ist der Einbezug von Ökosystemleistungen/Biodiversität in Raumentscheidungen. In einem Bundesmandat wurde eine Übersicht zu Planungstools erstellt, die dabei helfen können. Es wurden planungsinvolvierte Personen interviewt, um Hindernisse und Nachfrage nach Planungstools zu identifizieren.
Although a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has potential to greatly reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, it faces significant challenges, including range anxiety and limitations in battery capacity. Effective long-term planning for EV charging infrastructure can overcome these barriers and increase the chances of widespread adoption.
Damian Jerjen ist neu – nebst seinem Engagement am EspaceSuisse – als Professor of Practice beim NSL, ETH Zürich, in der Grundausbildung für die Raumplaner:innen tätig. Im Interview spricht er über die besten Strategien gegen die Wohnraumknappheit, das Gesetz über eine sichere Stromversorgung, das im Juni zur Abstimmung More
Landscape systems are intricate and challenging to illustrate effectively. The BeingAliveLanguage, a groundbreaking software integrated into Rhino/Grasshopper, revolutionizes the visualization of soil-centric information. Developed by ETH Zurich’s “Chair of Being Alive,” this tool empowers designers and planners to create expressive, automated illustrations that support decision-making processes.
Understanding how vehicles move is crucial for safer, more coordinated, and smarter transportation systems. However, directly observing vehicle trajectories is impractical, posing a challenge to obtaining accurate trajectory data with limited sensing capabilities. We explore our innovative approach to vehicle trajectory reconstruction, reshaping the future of traffic management.
Sociology professor Christian Schmid will retire this year. In an interview with Andres Herzog, he looks back on his time at the ETH Studio Basel, which sparked discussions with the book “Switzerland: An Urban Portrait” and whose publications will be freely available online as Open Access from May.
Der Verkehr auf ländlichen Strassen ausserhalb der Städte kann erhebliche negative Auswirkungen auf die Ökologie und Umwelt von Natur- und Agrarlandschaften haben. Der Umfang dieser Auswirkungen kann jedoch nicht bestimmt werden, da in vielen Ländern keine Daten zum Verkehrsvolumen auf ländlichen Strassen verfügbar sind. Deshalb haben wir einen More
On-Board Monitoring techniques, defined as using commercial trains to monitor the track status, have garnered much attention recently. While data come in relatively low quality, OBM is a low-cost and efficient alternative to traditional monitoring methods. Thus, funded by the ETH Mobility Initiative project OMISM, this study checks More
Damian Jerjen is currently Director of the Swiss association for spatial planning EspaceSuisse and Lecturer at ETH Zurich and other Swiss universities. He is an economist and spatial planner. He serves on various bodies, including the Council for Spatial Planning (ROR). At EspaceSuisse, he supports and brings together More
Allocating dedicated road space to slow modes is considered an effective way toward a radical modal shift. By exploiting traffic flow theoretical knowledge, convenient models can be developed to help evaluate the influence of such a large-scale transformation on network traffic performance. Novel strategies for bi-modal urban traffic More
Transportation systems are vital for economic and social development, yet are susceptible to disruptions caused by natural hazards, especially considering the adverse impacts of climate change on increasing the intensity of frequency of climatic hazards. To manage these risks effectively, stress testing, as a diagnostic tool, has shown More
Professor Eva Heinen (*1981), currently Full Professor at the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, was appointed as Full Professor of Transportation and Mobility Planning in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. Eva Heinen’s interdisciplinary research looks at mobility and transportation at the intersection of sustainable development, More
Martina Voser, currently owner and member of the Executive Board of mavo Landschaften gmbh and Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich, is now Full Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Department of Architecture. Martina Voser is regarded as one of the leading figures in Swiss landscape architecture and has More
The city of Zurich is a testament to the incredible power of urban codes and their influence on urban form. From the mid-nineteenth onwards, these codes, such as building laws, norms, standards, or even municipal constitutions, shaped and reshaped the city into what it is today. The research More
Explore the future of urban mobility with ETH Zürich’s Antigones project. Pioneering antifragility in traffic control, it transcends resilience, adapting to disruptions for efficient and disruption-resistant road networks. Antifragile frameworks can recognize early disruptions and mitigate the negative impact on users and society.
Während der COVID-Pandemie haben die Menschen ihr Verkehrsverhalten fundamental angepasst mit Verlagerungen vom öffentlichen Verkehr hin zu Individualverkehr. Insbesondere das Fahrrad erlebte einen regelrechten Boom während dem ersten Lockdown. Home office wurde zum ersten Mal global getestet und dies äusserst erfolgreich: die Pandemie hat die Home office Verbreitung More
Planning cities to adapt to the future is challenging due to complex interactions between mobility, infrastructure, and land use. This challenge is exacerbated by the need to study future uncertainties such as ever-shifting demographics and industrial landscape, increased environmental and climatic changes, disruptive and unpredictable technological development, and More
Look around you – what do you see? Unique urban landscapes with specific characteristics, identities, and landmarks? Or homogenous urban landscapes repeating similar shapes, materials, colours, and functions? Currently, homogeneity dominates the day-to-day realities of the European population, of which 74% already lives in urban landscapes. Homogeneity is More
Seit in Kraft treten des revidierten Raumplanungsgesetzes (RPG) auf 1. Mai 2014 sind alle 26 Schweizer Kantone und über 2130 Gemeinden dazu verpflichtet, ihre «Siedlungsentwicklung nach innen» zu lenken. Politik und Behörden müssen folglich ihre bestehenden Siedlungen verdichten, um Zersiedlung zu verhindern und den Flächenverbrauch pro Kopf zu More
Pilot regions, the federal government and the Chair of Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS) are jointly drafting which questions and indicators related to building outside building zones should be answered or recorded in the cantons in the future in the scope of a monitoring (BAB). The More
The Large-Scale Virtualization and Modeling Lab (LVML) becomes part of Design++, the Center for Augmented Computational Design in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. It opens its usage to Design++ members to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and supports knowledge integration and co-creation to advance planning and design tools and workflows. Contact: More
Antananarivo serves as a prominent example of how urban agriculture can effectively provide essential services for creating sustainable and resilient cities, specifically addressing food security and flood control challenges. The FCL Global research project has made significant contributions through landscape designs that prioritise and advance these crucial services, More
Die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung beeinflusst die Artenvielfalt, die zu schützen eine Herausforderung darstellt. Eine Studie hat potenzielle Verbreitungsgebiete prioritärer Vogelarten (Artverbreitungsmodelle) mit der landwirtschaftlichen Nutzungsauswirkung (Ökobilanzierung) verbunden. Basierend darauf wurde eine räumlich explizite Karte mit Fokusgebieten für den Erhalt und die Förderung dieser Arten produziert.
The landscapes dominated by chestnut trees in the southern alpine valleys are among the traditional agroforestry systems of Switzerland and have long been the main source of food for the local population. These complex socio-ecological systems provide a great learning space for landscape architects and planners, as chestnut More
On the highlands, across crop rotation plains and within the drained valley floors the «Agriterritories» of Zurich require immediate action for design to take back its political role within the rural. The ETH Zürich studio Agroecological Repair – Transformative Practices for the Zürich Territory (spring 23) was part More
David Kaufmann ist für die nächsten zwei Jahre neuer Direktor des Netzwerks Stadt und Landschaft (NSL). Seine Prioritäten sind die Stärkung der ETH Zürich im Bereich der nationalen und internationalen Stadtforschung sowie die Förderung von Synergien zwischen den Stadtforschungsgruppen der ETH in Forschung, Lehre und Engagement für die More
Housing is one of the most significant challenges for humanitarian actors and displaced persons in cities. This new SNF project on Urban Humanitarian Housing hopes to contribute to improving humanitarian housing responses as well as the well-being and agency of urban displaced persons worldwide. This is a collaboration More
How we spend our 24-hour days varies over time, be it by changes in one’s personal life or external forces like modifications to the built environment or government-level restrictions, as was the case during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. TimeUse+ is a novel survey methodology to collect data on More
Much of what architecture students learn in the studio is «tacit knowledge.» They develop the skills and sensibilities of architectural and urban design with practice, often under the supervision of instructors and peers, not by studying textbooks. Yet, despite its importance, we know relatively little about how this More
Design Research Studios (DRS) are an education format directed to Bachelor and Master students in Architecture at ETH Zurich that integrate studies conducted by post-graduate researchers on complex issues like flood and urban heat. They offer an opportunity to develop landscape designs connecting people and their environment with More
«… it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with; … what thoughts think thoughts, what descriptions describe descriptions, what ties tie ties. It matters what stories make worlds, what worlds make stories». D.J. Haraway In September 2022, a group of 18 architects met in the More
Maria Conen studied architecture at EPFL and ETH Zurich. After graduating, she was doing an MAS in History and Theory of Architecture, ETH Zurich. In 2011 she founded Conen Sigl Architekt:innen with Raoul Sigl. Working with existing structures is a key focus and main interest in their work. They More
Die alpine Landschaft verändert sich in beschleunigter Form. Das Projekt «Profilierung der Alpen» unternimmt den Versuch, durch Landschaftsarchitektur innert der Schweizer alpinen Landschaft konkrete Raumprofile zu entwickeln, die über Einzelinteressen von Landwirtschaft, Wasserkraft oder Tourismuslandschaften stehen.
A recently published review paper on mountain resilience identifies origins of the resilience concept with earliest roots in material, infrastructure, and physical resilience. Resilience today is seen beyond shock absorption towards transforming a system for making it stronger, as both more adaptive and more innovative. Several future engagement More
Wachstum, Boden, Wohnen? Schweizer Städte und Gemeinden sind seit 2014 gesetzlich dazu verpflichtet ihre «Siedlungsentwicklung nach innen» (Art. 1 RPG) zu lenken. Gleichzeitig werden ihre verfügbaren Bodenreserven knapp und die Wohnbevölkerung wächst stetig. Wie können kommunale Planer:innen aktiv und strategisch in den Wohnungsmarkt eingreifen, um so die Innenentwicklung More
Die Raumentwicklung ist ein komplexes Themenfeld im stetigen Wandel und eine interdisziplinäre Diskussion über dessen Zukunft nötig. Um auf künftige Bedürfnisse der Planungspraxis einzugehen, wurde eine umfassende Befragung zu Forschungsthemen und Lehrinhalten durchgeführt. Die Resultate verdeutlichen den Wunsch nach einem allgemeinen «Mehr» an Lehre und einer stärkeren Ausrichtung More
The intensity and frequency of natural hazards are on the rise. Refugee settlements face a particular risk from such disruptive events due to their precarious built environment and socio-economic situation. The SPUR and PLUS research groups at ETH Zürich, in collaboration with UNHCR and the Swiss Development Cooperation More
Sie haben das Kolloquium verpasst? Die Filmaufnahme ist jetzt online! Wir befinden uns in einer der grössten Abbruchwelle der Stadt Zürich. Diese dramatische Entwicklung polarisiert, die sozialen Auswirkungen auf die Stadt Zürich (und anderswo) muss diskutiert werden. Erreichen wir das erwünschte Ziel mit Abbrüchen von erschwinglichem Wohnraum? Wie More
A discussion with Shubhra Gururani, Christian Schmid, Michael Lukas, Giulia Torino, Metaxia Markaki, and Faiq Mari How do «peripheries» form? And how does urbanization generate processes of peripheralization? Today, novel patterns of urbanization are crystallizing in agricultural areas and in remote landscapes, challenging inherited conceptions of the urban More
ETH RAUM ist die neue Plattform der ETH Zürich, mit einem breiten Angebot in der Raumentwicklung. In einem MAS und drei neuen CAS-Programmen stehen Raumentwicklung, Planungspraxis, Prozessdesign und die Stadt als Laboratorium der Zukunft im Zentrum. Das Bewerbungsfenster ist bis 30. April 2023 geöffnet. Die Programme starten im More