Dear Readers,
How does the interaction between humans and the landscape shape us? How and to what extent should/can we influence it? In the face of climate change, statically designed landscapes require new, dynamic approaches. Innovative projects like TANTAN’EAU help with water and flood management, while food policy intervenes in urban agriculture. Scenario planning supports complex visions of the future, and industrial heritage, such as waste dumps, has a lasting impact on our landscapes.
We hope you enjoy reading this informative newsletter.
Dennis Häusler | Landschaftsarchitektur, Prof. Martina Voser und Matthias Vollmer | Large Scale Virtualisation and Modelling Lab – LVML
Die Landschaftsarchitektur sieht sich im Kontext des Klimawandels mit neuen Herausforderungen konfrontiert. Mehrheitlich statisch gestaltete Landschaften treffen auf neue, intensivere Dynamiken. Diese Verschiebung erfordert, die Sicht auf Wasserläufe und deren Schwankungen neu zu denken. Um auch in Zukunft robuste Landschaften zu gestalten, beschäftigt sich das Institut für Landschaft und Urbane Studien deshalb mit neuen Entwurfsmethoden.
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Constance Brouillet | Future Cities Lab Global | Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems, Prof. Dr. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey
TANTAN’EAU – a wordplay merging «Tantano» (to manage in Malagasy) and «Eau» (water in French) – is a serious game that helps decision-makers explore flood risk management. Designed to balance playability, realism, and the incorporation of architectural propositions, it immerses players in the challenges of peri-urban development in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo (Tana).
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Dr. Nitin Bathla | Sociology, Prof. Dr. Christian Schmid
Urban farming and agrarian struggles are reshaping cities and urbanising landscapes. In Zurich and beyond, agroecological initiatives, political food movements, and global urbanisation projects reveal how urban and agrarian worlds are entangled and enmeshed – offering new ways to rethink planning, property, urban ecology, and the future of urbanisation.
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Bonnie Kate Walker | Chair of Being Alive, Landscape Architecture, Prof. Teresa Galí-Izard
New Orleans is a landscape paradox – a city largely below sea level, which continues to sink as the sea rises outside the levee walls that protect it. Despite its capacity to produce a tremendous amount of biomass and ecological diversity, the city’s urban forest has been in decline since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the Garden of the 21st Century New Orleans, we are testing the potential of the Miyawaki method of forest planting to create possibilities for a new type of urban forest in the context of frequent disturbance and climatic precarity.
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Orlando Roman, Bryan T. Adey | Infrastructure Management
Scenario planning is increasingly used in urban planning in recognition of the uncertain and complex interactions between the built and the natural environment. Scenario planning develops alternative stories about the future, as combinations of important drivers of change, qualitatively. The use of computational models can inform the development of future scenarios when a large number of factors and scenarios exist.
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Philippe Vandenbroeck | Newrope, Architecture and Urban Transformation, Prof. Freek Persyn
Abraumhalden sind ein charakteristisches Landschaftselement ehemaliger Kohlebergbaugebiete. In Flandern und im französischen Norden werden sie Terrils genannt. Lange Zeit galten sie als Randzonen, wurden häufig abgetragen und als Erholungsflächen umgenutzt oder in Grün-Blau-Netzwerke integriert. In Einzelfällen bleiben sie als Zeugnisse des industriellen Erbes erhalten.
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Kurzmeldungen | Short Messages
Cities can expand their bike lane networks significantly without causing additional congestion on the roads. That is the conclusion reached by the ETH research project E-Bike City. Project lead and transport researcher Kay Axhausen explains the implications for traffic, the environment and costs.
Article on the ETH News | Article in the Tages-Anzeiger (Paywall)
David Kaufmann, Martina Koll-Schretzenmayr | disp – The Planning Review
The plan is to (re)position the journal as a key publication in the field of planning. They will build on the long history and high reputation of the journal – as being owned by ETH Zürich / Netzwerk Stadt und Landschaft (NSL), ETH Zürich and having close ties to AESOP – Association of European Schools of Planning – while also increasing its international reach and scholarly impact. disP is a deliberately interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal for planning scholarship. Their mission is to publish high quality planning research that integrates important contemporary issues such as urban ecological transitions, socio-spatial justice, digitalisation of planning processes, or democratic participation in planning.
Dr. Philipp Urech | Large-scale Virtualization and Modeling Lab (LVML)
Nach sechs Jahren LiDAR-Vermessung aus der Luft ist nun die klassifizierte Punktwolke der Schweiz – swissSURFACE3D – für das gesamte Schweizer Territorium verfügbar. Zu diesem Anlass präsentierte Dr. Philipp Urech Forschungsarbeiten aus dem Large-scale Virtualization and Modeling Lab (LVML), ergänzt durch praktische Beispiele seiner wegweisenden Methode für die Landschaftsarchitektur mit Präzisionsmodellierung im grossen Massstab. Der Vortrag fand im Rahmen der Kolloquiumsreihe des Bundesamtes für Landestopografie statt. (Folien und Videoaufzeichnung sind bei Swisstopo in Deutsch verfügbar: «14.03.2025 – swissSURFACE3D schweizweit»)
From bridges and tunnels to railways, Switzerland has always invested heavily in the upkeep of its infrastructure. But how does it keep everything operating safely and smoothly while also instilling confidence that nothing will go wrong? Read the full article at ETH News
Dr. Catherine Elliot | Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT)
If you missed the event «E-Bike City: Results & Future», have a look at the downloads and recordings section on this website. It offers a brochure, presentations, posters, video recordings, and street visualisations. May they positively impact our traffic situation and quality of life!
Publikationen | Publications
This is a selection. Find a complete list in the ETH Zürich Research Collection.
Marco Pagani, Michael Walczak, Hubert Klumpner
As urban environments evolve with increasing complexity, urban planning must adapt by often responding to unsolicited demands rather than to commissioned, structured work. This paper explores the integration of digital tools – including Digital Twins – into the architectural curriculum at ETH Zurich, aiming to bridge the gap between data-driven site analysis and data-driven design.
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Kay W. Axhausen, Catherine Elliot (ed.)
The E-Bike City project’s design is anchored in shifting away from private car use, particularly for daily commuting. It does so by ensuring access to shared vehicle hubs within 200 meters (or another designated distance) of every residence, promoting convenience and accessibility.
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Weiterbildung | Studiengänge | Further Education
Online Open Doors: 16 June 2025, 12:30-13:00 | Link. The application window is now open and will be closed as soon as the group is defined (or by 31.08.2025 at the latest). Start: Autumn semester 2025.
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Application: 1. June – 30. June 2025 | Duration: September 2025 – January 2026.
CAS#1 Worldviews: From Sustainability to Regeneration
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Bewerbung: 1. Mai – 31. Juli 2025 | Dauer: 25. August 2025 – 6. Februar 2026.
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This is a selection. Head over to our News-Page for more.
Wir laden Sie herzlich zu unseren Wanderausstellungen «10-Minuten-Nachbarschaften» ein.
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Opening: 3 July, 18:00-21:00 | Exhibition: 3 – 19 July 2025 | Microscope, 2-4 Tottenham Road, London E9 7BL.
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10 May – 23 November 2025 | 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
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Redaktionsteam | Editorial Board
Silvia Converso, Institut für Landschaft und Urbane Studien (LUS), Landschaftsarchitektur
Claudia Gebert, Koordinationsstelle NSL, Chefredaktion
Viera Klasovitá, Institut für Verkehrsplanung und Transportsysteme (IVT)
Klearjos Papanicolaou, Institut für Landschaft und Urbane Studien (LUS), Städtebau
Maarten Van Strien, Institut für Raum- und Landschaftsentwicklung (IRL)
