Cultural
Durable appreciation of buildings and urban densification combined with infrastructural improvements define the basis for socio-cultural revaluation Phases of life, new models of living together Economic powerful regions: strong migration, integration, individualization > Ioneliness Economic week regions: emigration, loss of culture.

Economical
Efficient construction and maintenance guarantee positive return of investment for architectural projects. A building that requires minimal operating energy is characterized by a well-balanced interaction between its skin, structure, building technology and service procedures.

Ecological
Sustainable Design is hereby defined as the quest for an optimized energy balance throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. Beside heating and cooling demand, grey energy and recycling energy are considered as integral components of planning. The choice of materials is further affected by environmental impact and emotional phenomenology, which close the circle to cultural sustainability.

Studio Themes

Constructive Ornament
Precise construction leads to beautiful detailing. The phenomenology of the materials leads to sensual aspects of spaces. Focusing on the tectonic rules of the material, efficient and aesthetic buildings are developed beyond an understanding of architecture as decorative surfaces.

Multitasking 1 to 20/200/2000
Since the building envelope is one of the key issues, construction in scale 1/20 is not done at the end of the design process. Parallel to plans and sections, urban design and construction are developed over the whole semester. Still, scheduled periods help to focus. Quality of Life
In the end architecture was invented to increase quality of life. We wonder about true values and think about a paradigm shift from “more quality of life - more energy consumption” to “more quality of life - less recourse consumption”


Current Projects

Design Studio Description SS 13

Past Projects

Project archiv WS 2012-13

Team

Prof. Dipl. Arch. ETH Dietrich Schwarz, Professor for Sustainable Design
Dipl.-Ing. Arch. SIA Manuel Sebastian Du, Research Assistant