25 September 2019, 18:00-19:00 | The Grand Projet Book Launch & Exhibition Opening | ETH Zürich, Hauptgebäude, im Lichthof, Erdgeschoss (HG E Nord), Rämistrasse 101, Zürich | exhibition open 25.9. to 4.10.2019. At this book launch and exhibition opening, The Grand Projet team at the ETH-Future Cities Laboratory presents the Continua
The Institute for Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS) has been founded as part of the Department of Architecture, with the Professors Christophe Girot, Hubert Klumpner, Freek Persyn, Christian Schmid, Milica Topalovic, and Günther Vogt. It replaces the three previous Institutes for Urban Design (ISB), Landscape Architecture (ILA) and the Contemporary City Institute (CCI).
Daily news headlines inform us about crises situations due to conflict and economic issues leading to soaring hunger and mass emigrations in various parts of the world. The ongoing research efforts at our chair in post-conflict Colombia, post-apartheid South Africa, and Ex-Yugoslavia focuses on creating synergies between city, Continua
Screening and panel discussion on Monday 11 March, 20:00 – 22:00 | Kino Kosmos, Zurich. London, 1972 – the city is growing, and with it the need to house working populations. Post-war values of social welfare make experimenting with new forms of housing possible, ushering in an era of Continua
On Mondays, 10:00 – 12:00 | ETH Zurich, Oerlikon, ONA E16, Neunbrunnenstrasse 50, 8050 Zurich. Lecturers: Hubert Klumpner with Klearjos Eduardo Papanicolaou The elective course «Action! On the Real City – CAMPUS: Sensory Ethnography of Educational Space» develops new forms of urban literacy in learning from the complex, Continua
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays 08:00 – 18:00 | ETH Zurich, Oerlikon, ONA E25, Neunbrunnenstrasse 50, 8050 Zurich. The Urban Prototype studio will address environmental issues and social inequality by exploring urban resettlement strategies and knowledge transfer spaces through new urban and building typologies in the context of the Continua
On Thursdays 08:00 – 09:30 | ETH Zurich, Oerlikon, ONA E7, Neunbrunnenstrasse 50, 8050 Zurich. How did the cities develop that we live in now? Which urban plans, instruments, visions, political decisions, economic reasonings, cultural inputs and social organization have been used to operate in urban settlements in Continua
Swiss Federal Council member Ignazio Cassis visited the site of the Empower Shack Project in the township of Khayelitsha in South Africa, meeting Prof. Hubert Klumpner on site. Together with the Swiss Ambassador, they spoke at length about the project’s potential to reshape housing policy in post-apartheid South Continua
5th and 6th April 2019, a linked two-day event with the ETH Forum Wohnungsbau. Featuring an interdisciplinary panel of 24 PhD’s and Post-Docs engaging with the topics ‘Sharing’, ‘Co-Creating’, and ‘Dwelling’, the Shareland Doctoral Conference will debate new frameworks for understanding cities, housing, and land distribution today. Sign Continua
The experiences gained from designing and implementing digital tools that aim to replicate an urban development methodology allows a critical reflection on the limits of emerging planning technology. These limits become clear when assessing how successful the technology is in enhancing the «focal practices» (Borgmann 1984) of participants Continua
Lecture course on Thursdays, starting 20 September, 8:00–9:30 | ETH Zurich, Oerlikon, ONA E7, Neunbrunnenstr. 50. How did cities develop in the cities we live in now? Which urban plans, instruments, visions, political decisions, economic reasonings, cultural inputs and social organization have been used to operate in urban settlements in specific moments of Continua
Elective course. Ethnographic Filmmaking on the City’s Edges. On Mondays, starting 17 September, 10:00–12:00 | ETH Zurich, Oerlikon, ONA E16, Neunbrunnenstr. 50. Lecturers: Alfredo Brillemboug & Hubert Klumpner with Klearjos Papanicolaou. The elective course «Action! On the Real City – Informal Zürich – Ethnographic Filmmaking on the City’s Edges» develops new forms of Continua
The collaborative «Urban Prototype» research focuses on alternative architectural projects for the Colombian capital of Bogotá. Among the outputs, typologies, integrated infrastructure, and innovative urban scenarios wer developed, generating challenges to conventional urban development approaches, mobility models, and open space concepts around the Plaza de Los Mártires area Continua
Our collaborative «Langstrasse with Love – Rogue Urbanism» research aims to develop new building typologies in response to gentrification processes in one of Zurich’s most diverse and inclusive areas, the Langstrasse district. Together with the Chair of Sociology, Prof. Dr. Schmid, and the ETH CASE / Wohnforum, Dr. Continua
Ausstellung im Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, vom 5. Oktober 2018 – 3. Februar 2019. A loom to start a business, a do-it-yourself house, or a solar kiosk for local power supply: social design is design for and with society – and highly topical. The consequences of the global growth Continua
While much has been written about the fate of buildings that outlast their program, typically in the post-industrial context, this essay «Waiting In The Sky: Test Beds for a Vertical Future in Torre David» addresses the topic from a different angle: vertically. Taking the Centro Financiero Confinanzas – Continua
Date: To be defined. As part of the series of NSL Colloquiua, this event will bring together practitioners from the fields of architecture and urban design with a special emphasis on the most pressing issues for cities in the 21st century. Through talks and open discussions, this event Continua
The Empower project uses applied design research and organizational models to address the current deficit in urban land readjustment through the development, implementation and evaluation of 42 housing units and integrated urban systems. The research is conducted under the tracks: (A) Land Readjustment methodology, (B) Stakeholder Relationship Arrangements Continua
Die Lehr- und Forschungsinitiative «Empower-Shack» (des Lehrstuhls für Architektur und Städtebau von Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner) und dessen Weiterführung in eine Realierungsphase wurde von einer Internationalen Jury des Royal Instituts for British Architects (RIBA) auf die Longlist für das Weltbeste Gebäude gewählt. RIBA vergibt seit 1848 einen der wichtigsten Architekturpreise Continua
The LUS Institute investigates landscapes, territories, and settlements – and the human and more-than-human relations that shape them – across scales and geographies, from Switzerland and Europe to diverse contexts throughout the so-called Global North and Global South.
Its research examines the spatial, environmental, political, (geo)historical, and more-than-human relations through which contemporary environments are produced, contested, and continually reshaped. The Institute engages with a broad set of interconnected themes that explore how these environments evolve. Core areas of inquiry include territorial and urban transformation; post-industrial and resource-affected territories; and the global–local entanglements that drive ongoing urbanisation processes. These interests are complemented by research into more-than-human and multispecies spatialities, foregrounding ecological interdependencies within changing landscapes.
Research projects address topics such as designed ecologies, energy transitions, housing, agroecology, hydrology, biodiversity and ecosystem processes, regenerative systems, and adaptive territorial infrastructures. Additional areas of focus include more-than-human landscapes, Indigenous territorialities, and socio-ecological and socio-economic transitions, and climate adaptation – together offering a comprehensive lens on the challenges and potentials of present and future development of landscapes, territories, and settlements.
The doctoral programme adopts an inter- and transdisciplinary approach, integrating architecture, landscape architecture, urban and territorial design, planning, urban theory and history, as well as the social sciences. It welcomes a wide range of methodological approaches, spanning (geo)historical research into landscape and urban form, participatory and community-engaged methods, qualitative and ethnographic inquiry, as well as cartographic, spatial, and mapping techniques.
The LUS Institute currently consists of seven chairs, each contributing uniquely to its diverse research landscape:
The LUS fellowship will start on 1 October 2026, with a 100% workload, based in Zurich, and is fixed-term for three and a half years.
While it is advantageous for proposed research to align with the individual and/or collective research agendas of the participating chairs at the LUS Institute, candidates are also encouraged to apply with independent research topics that resonate with the Institute’s broader areas of expertise and competencies.
We are seeking individuals with a background in:
In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us – we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future.
Applications should be addressed directly to the Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS), rather than to individual professors. Please note that applications will be evaluated solely based on their content; applicants are therefore requested not to contact individual professors prior to applying.
We look forward to receiving your online application by 2 March 2026, 23:59 CET. Your application should include the following documents:
This document must include:
The main content must adhere to the 4-page limit, using 11 pt font and single-spacing. Supplementary pages may include up to three illustrations (maps, drawings, images), a bibliography, and a project timeline.
Applications missing required documents or exceeding page limits will not be considered for evaluation.
Please do not include Language Certificates, Transcripts, or other document not listed.
The programme exclusively accepts application documents submitted through the ETH online application portal. Applications submitted via email or postal mail will not be considered.
Applicants are asked to consult the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) before reaching out. If your question is not covered there, you may contact the doctoral programme coordinator, Nazlı Tümerdem, at tuemerdem@arch.ethz.ch. Requests sent to any other email addresses will not be considered.
You may apply via this link.
Noise surrounds us. And yet, as willing as we may be to listen, it is not until a filtering process takes place that it becomes intelligible. For us, the language of architecture articulates this filtering process. With the re-arrangement of what is already there, noise becomes music – Continua
Fuga di capitali, debiti e crisi hanno lasciato cicatrici visibili sul volto dell’ambiente costruito nelle città di tutto il mondo. Nel centro di Atene, abbandono endemico, un patrimonio edilizio in deterioramento e un tessuto urbano frammentato sono tutti sintomi di processi di declino radicati nel tempo. Con il Continua
Sviluppato da un gruppo di ricercatori della cattedra di Architettura e urbanistica LUS, Prof. Hubert Klumpner, e sostenuto dai gruppi di ITA, Prof. Dr. Arno Schlueter e Prof. Dr. Philippe Block, in collaborazione con una rete internazionale di partner, come l’Universidad del Norte, la Fábrica de Cultura: BAQ Continua
Sebbene il Sud Africa sia generalmente considerato una fonte di stabilità e di prosperità nella sua regione, circa 7.5 milioni di persone vivono in insediamenti informali e il paese soffre di una carenza di alloggi che complessivamente ammonta a 2.5 milioni di unità. Nato da queste premesse, Empower Continua
Le strategie bottom-up sono una delle possibilità per affrontare le carenze urbane esistenti. Torre David, una torre per uffici alta 45 piani a Caracas, era quasi al termine della sua realizzazione quando, in seguito alla morte del suo finanziatore e alla crisi bancaria nazionale che ha paralizzato l’economia Continua
Ruby Press. Mehr Can architecture and design respond to cities under stress? With its roots in a research and design initiative, this book presents a collection of 101 spatial ideas that map a post-crisis urban vision for Athens. Targeting a range of challenges, from the economy and public space, Continua
Having collaborated with Khayelitsha-based NGO Theater4Change on the 2016 production Holy Contract, the Urban-Think Tank Chair is now designing a new arts complex to replace the group’s existing self-built space. The Makukhanye Shack Theater will greatly expand the impact of programs already underway, as well as improve access Continua
Initiated in 2014, the Urban-Think Tank Chair is developing an urban game that aims to facilitate decision-making and design processes to understand complex, real-life urban transformations in cities worldwide. Part educational tool, part platform for scenario planning, the ongoing project supports a sustainable approach to urban development while Continua
In: Hou, Jeffrey; Spencer, Benjamin; Way, Thaisa; Yocom, Ken (Hrsg.): Now Urbanism: The Future City Is Here. Routledge. More This book explores the intersections of critical inquiry and immediate, substantive actions. The contributions recognize the rich complexities of the present city not as barriers or obstacles but as grounds for uncovering opportunity Continua
PDF Mehr The Empower Shack team is a response to unsustainable housing approaches in South Africa. What began as a design and build workshop, aimed at developing a double-story shack prototype for Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, has evolved into a more ambitious project to implement design innovations for rapid and Continua
Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers. Urban-Think Tank, Lehrstuhl für Architektur und Städtebau, ETH Zürich. Fotografien von Iwan Baan. Mehr Torre David, a 45-story skyscraper in Caracas, has remained uncompleted since the Venezuelan economy collapsed in 1994. Today, it is the improvised home to more than 750 families living in Continua
Zurich: ETH Zurich, FCL Singapore. Mehr The magazine has grown to address a wide variety of global urban themes. Since its first edition, S.L.U.M. Lab has proven to be both provocative and popular. Knowledge sharing has always been a core aspect of the magazine, and many leading Continua
Can a museum be a force for change in a city? Inspired by citizen-led solidarity initiatives, the Urban-Think Tank Chair and Baier Bischofberger have redefined the iconic, but neglected, Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina – not as an institution dedicated solely to the display of objects, but as Continua
The Empower Shack project continues to evolve. The design research program has been completed, resulting in the documentation of a phased urban layout plan and a ‘fit for purpose’ low-cost housing prototype linked to an incremental plan for formal building code compliance. Initially conceived for a 68-unit pilot Continua
SwissAIM is an advanced software platform. It delivers dynamic high-resolution modeling of urban structures, landscapes, demographics, weather, energy, resources, and socio-economic conditions. Possible future urban scenarios will be synthesized for the whole of Switzerland from 2020 to 2050.
Founded in 1978 as a secluded site for drug rehabilitation, the Italian village of San Patrignano today consists of 1,600 residents whose therapy includes learning to produce food, furniture, and other goods. After visiting the community and markets in Emilia-Romagna, Urban-Think Tank’s design studio has been developing flexible Continua
The Urban-Think Tank Chair of Architecture and Urban Design recently launched a two-year design research project in the informal settlements of Cape Town, South Africa, with field surveys, commented walks and the design and facilitation of a series of open workshops. Referencing methods of participation from the Informal Continua
The Empower Shack project introduces an integrated approach to upgrading South African informal settlements, merging design innovation with community-driven spatial planning and livelihoods programming. The initiative links the roll-out of a two-story, self-built housing prototype with a participatory urban planning methodology supported by computational analysis. Funded by the Swiss Re Foundation, led by Continua