Department / Institute: Institute for Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS)
2 + 2 + 1 Landscape Talks. Eine Debatte über zeitgenössische Landschaftsarchitektur
Isolated Trees are a Cultural Fiction
Camila Medina Novoa is a landscape historian and researcher, whose work sits at the intersection of history of landscape architecture, environmental history, history of science, and the emerging field of Plant Humanities — which places plant species at the centre of historical and cultural inquiry, allowing scientific and More
Manual for Designing Urban Imaginaries Colombia
What does it mean to reimagine the cities of tomorrow? How do we create urban environments that empower the many, rather than enrich the few? The Manual for Designing Urban Imaginaries Colombia is grounded in experimentation and aims to confront one of humanity’s most pressing challenges: the complexities More
Public Squares. Mixed neighbourhoods, mixed squares? Exploring the diversity gap in public squares
Das Buch «Social Infrastructure in Neighbourhoods and Cities» beleuchtet die verschiedenen Formen und Facetten sozialer Infrastrukturen – physische Räume, die Menschen zusammenbringen, Verbindungen ermöglichen und Gemeinschaft fördern. Hannah Widmer, Forscherin am ETH Wohnforum, untersucht in ihrem Beitrag die Diversität der Nutzer:innen dreier Quartiersplätze in Zürich und vergleicht sie More
Zentren geistiger Stadterweiterung
Die bisher wenig erforschte Architektur der Wiener Volkshochschule wird in diesem Buch von Carina Sacher, Forscherin am ETH Wohnforum, und Lukas Vejnik beleuchtet. Erfolge und Rückschläge, grosse und kleine Projekte, Kontinuitäten und Brüche über drei Jahrzehnte der Nachkriegszeit werden dabei entschlüsselt. Die Publikation liefert einen wertvollen Beitrag zur More
“The Alps provide a valuable lens through which to examine how societies understand, manage, and adapt to environmental change.”
In her new role at ETH Zurich, Aisling O’Carroll brings a historical lens to one of landscape architecture’s most urgent questions: how do we design for a changing climate by learning from the past? In this interview, she reflects on the value of historical research, the potential of More
Towards a Typology of Collaborative Housing in Colombia
Interest in collaborative housing is growing across Latin America. Based on 20 case studies, four distinct types were identified: the Eco-Communitarian, the Developer-led, the Resistance, and the Political, differentiated by the actors and instruments enabling their emergence, sustainability, and scalability over time.
Tom Avermaete receives one of the coveted ERC Advanced Grants
Professor of architecture Tom Avermaete is researching how cities are designed and how they have evolved over time – and what we can learn from this for the urban planning of the future. In his ERC project, he is investigating how cooperatives, housing associations, and other collective institutions More
Urban Studies Best Article Prize 2025 for Nitin Bathla
The Urban Studies Best Article is awarded by the editors to the author(s) of what they consider to be the most innovative and agenda-setting article published in a given year. The editors are pleased to announce that Nitin Bathla is the winner of the Urban Studies Best Article More
Hybrid Terrain Modeling: A Multidimensional Landscape Design Method
This paper focuses on how, in the wake of shifting hydro-topographic regimes in Switzerland, digital design methods can be combined with tactile modeling methods to support the overall design process and output. Bridging crucial gaps in the workflow from geodata to physical modeling the paper proposes a design More
Entwerfen mit und für Dynamiken
Landschaft ist nie still. Selbst dort, wo sie fest erscheint, arbeitet die Zeit an ihr weiter. Wasser, Sedimente, Vegetation und topografische Prozesse wandeln sich fortwährend. Angesichts zunehmender hydrologischer und geomorphologischer Dynamiken stellt sich für die Landschaftsarchitektur die Frage, wie sich nicht nur Raum, sondern auch Zeit entwerfen lässt.
Resourceful Cities
A series of Research Studios at the Chair of the History and Theory of Urban Design investigates the role of resources in the history of urban design. How are resources relied upon, managed, and produced by cities? How can historical experiences inform the challenges of today? How do More
Going to the Wild? Extended Urbanisation and the Production of a ‘Wilderness’ Frontier in the Mara-Serengeti
In this research, I seek to question and upset the dominant narrative in the planetary thesis of urbanisation. I seek to challenge the colonial roots and thinking contained therein. I do this by arguing that histories of the land and the everyday lives of people matter in centring More
The Maasai Savannah is a Relational Space
Often, when we speak about the savanna there is always a presupposition that we are talking about the wild. Standing in the outskirts of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya on community lands, and looking out towards the reserve, what was remarkable was the mix of livestock More
Cinema and the City in the Age of Planetary Urbanization
If planetary urbanization has reoriented urban research beyond the city, a key question remains: how are these uneven and often inaccessible territories to be sensed, documented, and understood? We suggest that the answer lies in a co-constitutive engagement between urban theory and sensory registers of film and other More
“Despite the gentle blanket of snow covering everything, you could still feel the sheer force of what had happened in Blatten”
The rock avalanche of May 2025 didn’t just bury the village of Blatten – within seconds, it also fundamentally transformed the entire landscape. ETH Professor Martina Voser has been working with landscape architecture students to develop different visions for the future of the Lötschental. In this interview, she More
“Learn from history and demolish as few buildings as possible”
Zurich is growing – but does the city need new high-rise buildings to accommodate that growth? Not necessarily, says ETH Zurich urban history professor Tom Avermaete. His joint research project with professor of architecture Jonathan Sergison (USI) shows that mid-rise buildings and targeted densification can absorb the city’s More
Szenario-Workshops: Innovative Methode für Problemanalyse, Austausch und Zukunftsszenarien
Im Rahmen des EU-Horizon-Projekts ReHousIn untersucht das ETH Wohnforum den Zusammenhang zwischen Klimaanpassungsstrategien und Wohnungsungleichheiten in der Schweiz. Im Fokus stehen Massnahmen zur Verdichtung, Begrünung sowie energetische Sanierungen. Wir analysieren, wie solche Strategien zur Aufwertung von Quartieren beitragen und dadurch Mietsteigerungen sowie Verdrängungsprozesse beeinflussen können.
Philipp Urech and Susann Ahn win the Tulane Prize for Climate Change Curriculum in the Built Environment, category Landscape Architecture
Arquiteturas Film Festival Guest Programme
Disrupting the Corridor: New Scenarios for Water/Ground Mobilities
Densités écologiques. Quel futur pour le bâti genevois? Ecological densities. Where Next for Geneva’s Built Environment?
Urban Nature Archives. Photography and Extended Urbanisation in the Brazilian Amazon
ETH Medal for the outstanding doctoral theses at D-ARCH of Sara Frikech
Designing Urban Imaginaries Tour 2026
Open Call – DELUS Issue 2
«Not Just Roads»
Thinking Through Soil
Critical Walking: A Methods Seminar
19 February – 7 May 2026 | ETH Zürich. This doctoral seminar has a twofold aim: (1) to develop an in-depth understanding of walking practices and critical walking methodologies across diverse contexts and geographies through theory sessions; and (2) to practise critical walking in walking seminars as a More
Grüne Infrastruktur im Spannungsfeld von Aufwertung und Verdrängung: Erkenntnisse aus dem EU-Projekt ReHousIn
Im EU-Horizon-Projekt ReHousIn wird analysiert, wie städtische Klimaanpassungsstrategien die Bezahlbarkeit des Wohnens beeinflussen und mit entsprechenden Marktentwicklungen verflochten sind. Auf Basis von Expert:inneninterviews zeigt die Studie, dass klimabezogene Anpassungen Markterwartungen prägen und durch Aufwertung soziale Folgen nach sich ziehen können.
Sarajevo Citizens Build Urban Imaginaries
What does collective planning, designing, and building really mean? When implementing new urban projects, architects face the challenge of visualizing planned changes for citizens. While diagrams, drawings, and renderings are standard, they often fail to communicate the physical reality of a project. The Urban Transformation Project Sarajevo (UTPS) More
Urban Design Toolbox Catalog (UDTC) Platform: An E-learning Space For Exchanging Design Strategies
Cities consume more than two thirds of global energy, produce over 70% of CO₂ emissions, and are primary sites of inequality. Yet, due to their territorial competencies and entanglement with socio-ecological challenges, they also hold unmatched potential for climate action and social transformation. To harness this potential, students, More
From Teaching to Active Learning: Co-designing a Toolbox for Inclusive and Regenerative Cities
How can architectural education enable students to move beyond receiving lecture content and toward the co-production of transferable urban design knowledge? The Urban Stories Lecture Series is developing an active-learning framework that links lectures, workshops, seminars, exhibitions, and an emerging e-platform. Students shift from passive recipients of content More
NSL Veranstaltungsplakat Frühjahrssemester 2026
2 + 2 + 1 Eine Debatte über zeitgenössische Landschaftsarchitektur
Architecture and Landscape Architecture History
LUS Doctoral Crits Spring 2026
18 May 2026, 8:50-15:00 | L200, Langstrasse 200, 8005 Zürich. The LUS Doctoral Crits provide a dedicated platform for doctoral researchers from within the Institute and beyond to present their work and receive constructive feedback from LUS professors, the wider academic community, and invited guests. This public event More
Cinema and the City in the Age of Planetary Urbanization
1. April, 19:00 | Book launch | ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, gta Foyer, HIL D 50.5, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5. How do cinema and planetary urbanization shape each other amid ecological and democratic crises? This book maps shifts in visual culture since the late 1980s as filmmakers, photographers, and artists probe More