Tom Avermaete: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2020 |  |
| Name | Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete |
| Field | History and Theory of Urban Design |
| Address | Geschichte u.Theorie d. Städtebaus ETH Zürich, HIL D 70.7 Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5 8093 Zürich SWITZERLAND |
| Telephone | +41 44 633 73 09 |
| tom.avermaete@gta.arch.ethz.ch | |
| Department | Architecture |
| Relationship | Full Professor |
| Number | Title | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 051-1205-20L | Integrated Discipline in History of Urban Design   | 3 credits | 2U | T. Avermaete | |
| Abstract | Students interested in this course are required to enroll via mystudies.ethz.ch and apply via e-mail at the chair until end of the first week of the semester. Students are asked to indicate the theme of the design and the chair they are working with. The work is handed in at the same time as the design assignment. | ||||
| Learning objective | The goal is to develop a historical investigation of urban design with a clear topic and a clear formulation of a question. The findings and the discoveries shall form the basis of the design. | ||||
| Content | The integrated study performance is attached to the design, but in urban planning discipline it must be a clearly recognizable independent achievement, which is to be provided in the form of a written and / or creative work. Choice of topic, form and extent of the work must be done in close consultation with the chair. | ||||
| Lecture notes | There is no reader. | ||||
| Literature | Suggestions will be given at the discussions. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Registration to the professorship until the end of the first semester week, stating the design topic and the supervising chair. | ||||
| 052-0801-00L | Global History of Urban Design I | 2 credits | 2G | T. Avermaete | |
| Abstract | This course focuses on the history of the city, as well as on the ideas, processes and actors that engender and lead their developments and transformations. The history of urban design will be approached as a cross-cultural field of knowledge that integrates scientific, economic and technical innovation as well as social and cultural advance. | ||||
| Learning objective | The lectures deal mainly with the definition of urban design as an independent discipline, which maintains connections with other disciplines (politics, sociology, geography) that are concerned with the transformation of the city. The aim is to make students conversant with the multiple theories, concepts and approaches of urban design as they were articulated throughout time in a variety of cultural contexts, thus offering a theoretical framework for students' future design work. | ||||
| Content | In the first semester the genesis of the objects of study, the city, urban culture and urban design, are introduced and situated within their intellectual, cultural and political contexts: 01. The History and Theory of the City as Project 02. Of Rituals, Water and Mud: The Urban Revolution in Mesopotamia and the Indus 03: The Idea of the Polis: Rome, Greece and Beyond 04: The Long Middle Ages and their Counterparts: From the Towns of Tuscany to Delhi 05: Between Ideal and Laboratory: Of Middle Eastern Grids and European Renaissance Principles 06: Of Absolutism and Enlightenment: Baroque, Defense and Colonization 07: The City of Labor: Company Towns as Cross-Cultural Phenomenon 09: Garden Cities of Tomorrow: From the Global North to the Global South and Back Again 010: Civilized Wilderness and City Beautiful: The Park Movement of Olmsted and The Urban Plans of Burnham 011: The Extension of the European City: From the Viennese Ringstrasse to Amsterdam Zuid | ||||
| Lecture notes | Prior to each lecture a chapter of the reader (Skript) will be made available through the webpage of the Chair. These chapters will provide an introduction to the lecture, the basic visual references of each lecture, key dates and events, as well as references to the compulsory and additional reading. | ||||
| Literature | There are three books that will function as main reference literature throughout the course: -Ching, Francis D. K, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. Hoboken: Wiley, 2017. -Ingersoll, Richard. World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. -James-Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014. These books will be reserved for consultation in the ETH Baubibliothek, and will not be available for individual loans. A list of further recommended literature will be found within each chapter of the reader (Skript). | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Students are required to familiarize themselves with the conventions of architectural drawing (reading and analyzing plans at various scales). Hybrid teaching: 33/33/33 (face-to-face/online, changing) | ||||
| 052-0803-00L | History and Theory of Architecture I | 2 credits | 2V + 2U | T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, M. Charitonidou, L. Stalder, P. J. Teerds, P. Ursprung | |
| Abstract | Introduction and overview of the history and theory of architecture from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke) Introduction in the methods and instruments of the history of art and architecture. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke, Prof. Dr. L. Stalder, Prof. Dr. P. Unsprung, Prof. Dr. T. Avermaete) | ||||
| Learning objective | Acquiring basic knowledge of the history of architecture and architectural theory, resp. of the methods and instruments of research into architecture. Being able to identify the main architectural issues and debates of the period and geography covered in the course. Acquiring the attitudes and tools to develop a historically informed reading of the built environment. Acquiring the tools to be able to draw on historical, theoretical and critical research to nourish one's architectural culture. | ||||
| Content | The course History and Theory of Architecture I offers a chronological and thematic overview of the architecture and architectural theory produced in Europe from the 15th up to 19th century. Thematic lectures about key questions at play during the period will be combined with the in-depth analysis of historical buildings. Themes will cover the emergence and development of Vitruvian design theory and practice up to the 19th century, and related issues such as the emergence of the architect; the media of architectural design and practice (drawings, models, building materials); patterns and media of dissemination and influence (micro-architecture, imagery); building types (the palazzo and the villa); questions of beauty and ornament; questions of patronage (e.g. the Roman papacy); the relation of buildings to the city (e.g. the development of European capitals); attitudes towards history (origin myths, historicism); the question of the monument. The course Fundamentals of the History and Theory of Architecture I consists of different parts, each dealing with a particular area of research into the history of art and architecture (1) Architecture and the book (M. Delbeke) (2) Architectural media (L. Stalder). (3) Architecture and art (P. Ursprung) (4) Urbanism and the Commons (T. Avermaete) | ||||
| Literature | Literature and handouts will be provided over the course of the term. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | For the course History and Theory of Architecture I students will rely on assisted self study to acquire basic knowledge of the canonical history of architecture in Europe. The exercise is taught in the hybrid mode (Bubbles of 24 students: 1st week: Bubbles 1-5 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 6-10 and 11 - 15 online in studio G41/G61; . 2nd week: Bubbles 6-10 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 11-15 and 1 - 5 online in studio G41/G61; 3. Woche: Bubbles 11-15 face-to-face teaching, bubbles 1-5 and 6 - 10online in studioG41/G61; 4th week equal to 1st week etc. | ||||
| 063-0171-20L | History, Criticism and Theory of Architecture (Thesis Elective) | 6 credits | 13A | T. Avermaete | |
| Abstract | Within three elective courses the students need to fulfill an elective work (seminar work). Elective works serve the independent way of dealing with the contents of the according elective course. | ||||
| Learning objective | The goal is to develop a framework of questions within the field of the history and theory of architecture as well as cultural history and to discuss it in a text that will form a scientific thesis. Personal viewpoints and arguments should be based on historical and theoretical sources and literature, and should be presented with reference to the source. | ||||
| Content | The contents of these elective studies are expected to link to the subject matter of the attended course. | ||||
| 063-0367-20L | History of Urban Design (Thesis Elective) | 6 credits | 13A | T. Avermaete | |
| Abstract | Within three elective courses the students need to fulfill an elective work (seminar work). Elective works serve the independent way of dealing with the contents of the according elective course. | ||||
| Learning objective | Aim of this seminar work is to learn how to write a small thesis on a case study. This work should include a creative text, but also to obey certain rules, which turn a regular text into a scientific one. | ||||
| Content | The contents of these elective studies are expected to related to the subject matters addressed in the course. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Registration for the elective subject must be preceded by a conversation with one of the assistants of the chair. It is therefore advisable to contact one of the assistants before registering. | ||||
| 063-0803-01L | History and Theory in Architecture IX (Avermaete) | 1 credit | 1V | T. Avermaete, P. J. Teerds | |
| Abstract | This survey course offers an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development. | ||||
| Learning objective | More than half of the global population lives in cities. Within the next few decades, this proportion is expected to increase to two-thirds. Contested by a wide range of interests , urban development concerns politicians, economists, anthropologists, philosophers, citizens and activists, developers and designers. In turn, the urban realm has provoked theorists, citizens, politicians, artists and designers to think and write about its form and functioning, appearance and structure. The discourse regarding the current growth of cities has a long pedigree in history, going back to the establishment of Greek and Roman city-states. In turn, urban planners have made valuable contributions to these discussions, in writings and in actual urban design projects and proposals. This survey course aims to offer an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development. By investigating a range of topics, from politics to poverty, and from modernization to commodification, it aims to show how urban and architectural design are related to theory. Through its historical overview of discourses on cities and its assets, it challenges students to reflect upon their own position regarding architectural interventions in the urban fabric. This course aims to offer a survey of the history and current state of urban theory for students of urban design and architecture. Weekly, one-hour lectures address one particular topic at a time (e.g. politics, public space, capital). In each lecture, this theme is investigated through three case-studies (either of particular cities or seminal contributions by theorists or designers) that highlight crucial moments in the history and developments of cities. At the same time, the case studies will be structured so as to bridge between urban theories and concrete urban situations, design reflections and political ambitions. This will help convey to students the historical pedigree of current discourses on cities, whether simultaneously gain insight the role of designers in respect to the chosen topic. Students will prepare the meetings by reading fragments from core texts on the forehand. | ||||
| Content | Lecture 01 - Introduction Lecture 02 - Politcs Lecture 03 - Public Space Lecture 04 - Contextualism Lecture 05 - Capital Lecture 06 - Commodification Lecture 07 - Poverty Lecture 08 - Modernization Lecture 09 - Historicism Lecture 10 - Identity | ||||
| Literature | For this course, each week students will read fragments from key readings on the topics addressed. These readings will be made available via the website of the course. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course will be taught in English | ||||
| 063-0853-20L | Subject Semester HS20 in the Field of History and Theory of Architecture (gta Prof. Ursprung) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! | 14 credits | 29A | P. Ursprung, T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke | |
| Abstract | "Who Cares?" Architecture and Care: A collective Manifesto What is care? Therapy, prevention, maintenance, affection, empathy, monitoring, paying attention? Who takes care? Nurses, doctors, family members, scientists, shamans, architects? What is cared for? Children, melting glaciers, birds, decaying houses? Students are invited to give answers to these questions. | ||||
| Learning objective | Our aim is to increase the knowledge and sensitivity of architecture students toward the issue of care, to make their voices heard and to develop a new teaching form for the history and theory of architecture. Students will be familiar with theories and practices of care, they will learn to take position in a field, they will practice argumentation and increase their writing skills. | ||||
| Content | "Who Cares?" Architecture and Care: A collective Manifesto What is care? Therapy of disease, prevention of illness, maintenance of health, affection, empathy, monitoring ecological processes, paying attention to the built environment? Who takes care? Nurses, doctors, family members, scientists, shamans, architects? What is cared for? Children, melting glaciers, birds, decaying houses? Students are invited to give answers to these questions. Starting with three concrete sites - a grotto with esoteric healing qualities, a former santorium, and a monitoring site for climate change - students will develop during the semester an illustrated essay as part of a collective manifesto. Independent student work. Weekly meetings. Within the frame of the semester topic, the choice of topic is free. Students interested in participating please come to the first meeting, Thursday Sept 17th, 10am, HIL D-ArchENA (=gta exhibition space). For further information, please see: https://ursprung.arch.ethz.ch/courses/who-cares/information | ||||
| Literature | Will be provided. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! Accompanying courses: - 063-0803-00L History and Theory in Architecture IX. - 052-0825-20L Special Questions in History of Art and Architecture (optional, individual events). Self dependent work. Within the frame of the semester topic, the choice of topic is free. For further information, please see: https://ursprung.arch.ethz.ch/courses/who-cares/information | ||||
| 063-0855-20L | Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 in the Field of History and Theory of Architecture gta(Delbeke) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! | 14 credits | 29A | M. Delbeke, T. Avermaete, P. Ursprung | |
| Abstract | In this subject semester titled ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ we examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. Focussing on the relationship between books and architecture, we explore both local architecture in Switzerland and locality in buildings in major cities as Rome, Paris and London vs. the globality of early-modern print culture. | ||||
| Learning objective | After this semester students will have the ability to write an academic paper, and develop an attitude of research, to find their own ways to approach architectural questions. All members of the chair will provide input, in both content and methodology. Weekly group meetings and individual supervision by the chair members will train the students in academic researching and writing. Exchanges with the researchers at the chair are also beneficial to further their research themes and teaching. The students are also trained in developing a critical outlook, following the idea of: ‘In more general terms, much of what happens in the built environment is only marginally concerned with architecture; looking at the history of the built environment through the lens of architecture, as we do here, leaves much unseen [...] Buildings do not express meaning on their own, but as elements of an environment, or in dialogue with images and texts found in books, plates or, indeed, buildings’. | ||||
| Content | Focussing on ‘Building Local - Printing Global 1450-1850’ the courses and meetings will examine the role locality plays in architecture and architectural theory in this period. We will explore for example how locality is expressed in a building, what role materiality plays, the tensions between the vernacular and the classical, etc., with Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland as focus and locus points. Students propose their own topic within this theme. The concept of 'in situ' functions as a theoretical concept to think about these topics and the general theme. Students can choose to study books, buildings, cities, and sites to further explore this. The History Studio will teach the students to be both historically and critically competent. Far from being univocal, the relation between certain cities and specific media can be looked at as exemplary. Already one of the chair’s strengths, the built and the printed will be analysed in relation with their geographical contexts. Starting from Rome, Paris, London and Switzerland we look at the wider impact of architecture by means of printed media. Tracing the development of major cities in print, the course does not follow a chronology, but zooms in on specific examples. The dialogue between the printed and the built will take shape in the different seminars and meetings. A diversity of buildings and sites will be examined, within the context of the diversity of printed media. The treatise, the guidebook, the builder’s manual, the novel, the journal, the pamphlet, the travelogue, all offer entrances into the complex world of early modern print culture. Touching upon precise examples, the interventions search for, test and highlight the limits of historical narratives. On the one hand, the idea is to convey the necessity of a canonical history; on the other hand, it is to search and test approaches and methods of enquiry that challenge that canon and propose a different history. We will examine how books travel, and the impact of certain books and treatises on the places they travelled to. We study the movement of the book and its impact on architectural culture, or the dialogue it created with architectural culture in a variety of locales (eg. those considered ‘peripheral’ next to European contexts) to trace how ideas move. This puts the global movement of print at the front and centre. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! | ||||
| 063-0857-20L | Subject Semester (Fachsemester) HS20 in the Field of History and Theory in Architecture (Avermaete) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! | 14 credits | 29A | T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, P. Ursprung | |
| Abstract | Cities have always been places of common resources and practices. While designing and constructing the architecture of the city, architects, urban designers, builders, inhabitants have had to engage with a pool of common resources: inherited common-pool resources (water, nature, air); material common-pool resources (clay, brick, stone, wood) and immaterial common-pool resources (craft, knowledge). | ||||
| Learning objective | The subject semester or "Ffachsemester" has two objectives. First, is to develop an ‘Archeology’ of Zürich Commons. In this part, the work of the urban historian or theoretician is understood as an archeological venture: the city will be regarded as an enigma that needs to be deciphered. The result will be a systematic, analytical account of how the architecture of the city has time-and-time-again provided a framework for commoning, how common resources manifest themselves, and how, as urban figures, they impact the fabric of cities. Second, is to develop an ‘Ecology’ of Zürich commons. In this part the question of how the commons are experienced, practiced and developed in the city of Zürich until today is scrutinized. Students will probe into the city to analyze the character and role of common pool resources (green space, open space, water, materials, typologies, etc…) and the way that the citizens of Zürich have engaged, and are engaging, with them. | ||||
| Content | Cities have always been places of common resources and common practices. While designing and constructing the architecture of the city, architects, urban designers, builders, and inhabitants have had to engage with a pool of common resources in particular places and geographies: inherited common-pool resources (water, nature, air); material common-pool resources (clay, brick, stone, wood); and immaterial common-pool resources (craft, knowledge). This understanding of the city, as related to common resources and practices, has gained renewed attention, as neoliberalism replaces ever-shrinking welfare structures, and global urbanisation is accompanied by rising inequality. It is not only architects and urban designers who are again becoming interested in alternative principles of pooling common resources, but also political circles and society at large. Some of these issues – generally called ‘the commons’ – have also received growing academic attention in the last decades, in the fields of critical urban studies, urban history, urban geography and the social sciences. This fachsemester probes into the rich history of ‘the commons’ in the city of Zürich, understood from an architectural, spatial and material perspective. It will explore how common practices and resources have affected the architecture of the city, and conversely how the built environment has structured common practices and facilitated access to common resources. The research will unlock an alternative reading of the urban and architectural qualities of the built environment of the city. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! Self-dependent work. Enrollment on agreement with the chair only. Meetings as required and after consultation with the chair (Wednesdays). The collective and individual projects together will offer an alternative reading, which retro-actively traces the urban territory and architectural quality of the city of Zurich back to the local common resources and common practices. The different materials – texts, drawings, models – will be combined in an atlas, which presents this alternative reading to a larger audience. | ||||
| 063-0953-20L | Subject Semester HS20 in the Field of Historic Building Research and Conservation (IDB, Prof Holzer) Only for Architecture MSc, Programme Regulations 2017. A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! | 14 credits | 29A | S. Holzer, T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, P. Ursprung | |
| Abstract | The subject semester (to choose out of two topics) includes the individual, independent processing of a specific task, whereby the relevance of the respective discipline is examined with regard to the specific architectural and design aspects of the task. | ||||
| Learning objective | The subject semester includes the individual, independent processing of a specific task, whereby the relevance of the respective discipline is examined with regard to the specific architectural and design aspects of the task. | ||||
| Content | TOPIC 1 (to choose from): Baroque period alterations to late Gothic vaults in Bavaria and Upper Austria Analogous to the construction principle of a wedge arch, masonry vaults are only stable when they are finished and closed. Opening a vault - for example for renovations or repairs - is therefore a delicate operation in which the stability of the entire structure is at stake. Nevertheless, such interventions were carried out in earlier centuries with the technical means available at that time. Methods and techniques that were used in historical vault conversions can be examined using a group of late Gothic churches in southeastern Bavaria and neighboring Upper Austria. These churches, which were built in the 15th century, are characterized by a common architectural feature: a pillar arranged in the central axis of the nave forms the central support of the vaults. This central pillar, which stood in the line of sight in front of the choir room and the high altar, was perceived as disturbing in the Baroque period, so it was removed in some cases. The vaults were usually not completely replaced, but only around the pillar removed and then - with a significantly larger span - closed again. How exactly such an operation took place has not yet been clarified and will be investigated as part of the semester through building research at several churches. To do this, the geometry of the vault is first recorded using a 3D laser scan. Traces of the renovation are documented in drawings and photographs. Insightful Findings can be found mainly on the top of the vault, i.e. in the attic of the church, e.g. Iron slugs with which the newly inserted vault was suspended from the wooden roof. A comparison of the different vaults should clarify to what extent the methods of the baroque master builders differ from case to case. Explanation of the findings from the investigation in a written paper (approx. 20 pages, plans, illustrations). Building research on the vaults: approx. Three work campaigns, each lasting several days. Objects of investigation: Churches of Anger and Tacherting, Spitalkirche von Braunau, Church of Hochburg-Ach. Information: Clemens Voigts voigts@arch.ethz.ch. TOPIC 2: The roof structure of the parish church of St. John the Baptist in Bernhardzell SG The parish church in Bernhardzell SG, consecrated in 1779, is the main work of the Vorarlberg master builder Johann Ferdinand Beer (1731–1789). This church, consecrated to John the Baptist, stands out from the typical St. Gallen country churches of saddle-roofed hall buildings in two ways: firstly, it is a central building and secondly, it is covered by a mansard roof. The aim of the semester is to thoroughly examine and document the almost 17 m wide roof structure of the Berhandzell Church. This includes an outline of the planning and construction history based on the published research literature. The history of the restoration of the church in the 20th century is to be processed using the tangible files in the archives. In addition to a detailed description, a 3D model of the roof structure including the cross arms is created, which is to serve as the basis for cuts along the main trusses. For individual nodes, such as the head and foot zones of the mansard construction and the hanging columns, isometric exploded views are to be created, at which the hidden carpentry-like connections and the built-in iron elements can be seen. In addition to the system of symbols, the various traces of processing and manufacturing on the wood are meticulously documented. The aim of the work will also be to didactically process the complex construction using the 3D model, plans and photos in order to make the roof of the church in Bernhardzell familiar to a wider audience. | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | A student can only register once for a "Fachsemester" during the Master studies! The requirements for this subject semester are interest in the material as well as experience with and knowledge of historical wooden structures and the methods of building research. Ideally, the student has heard Prof. Holzer's lectures on construction history or does so during the semester. It is also beneficial to have attended the case studies exercise. | ||||
| 064-0005-20L | Advanced Topics in History and Theory of Architecture For Architecture doctoral program only. | 1 credit | 1K | T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, L. Stalder, P. Ursprung | |
| Abstract | Corrective historiographies for architectural research | ||||
| Learning objective | Acquiring insight into advanced research methods available to PhD-researchers in the fields of the history and theory of art and architecture. | ||||
| Content | In an era of postcolonial theory and reflection, architectural historiography is faced with a series of new challenges and ambitions, concerning its subjects and its methods. This course will reflect upon three of them: the death of the author, center and meta-theory. A first point investigates how recent scholarship seems to dissociate from histories of single and all-decisive authors, to make way for perspectives that render buildings and neighborhoods as a matter of negotiation between multiple agencies. Second, this course will dwell upon the Euro-American bias of our histories, as well as its implicit center-periphery model, and look at recent attempts to tell more cross-cultural historiographies of architecture. Third, the course will discuss the strong meta-theoretical bias of postcolonial historiography (using theories of power, alterity, gender) and question if this has not resulted in disqualification of the material and formal presence of architecture in our history writing. This threefold change in architectural historiography seems to coincide with a shift in the contemporary discourses on the changing role of the architect, the cooperative character of architectural practice and the renewed interest in the craft. The course will question the productiveness of these resonances between historiography and design practice. | ||||
| Lecture notes | Scans of selected texts for discussion and exercises will be provided at the beginning of HS 2020 on the course website: https://doctoral-program.gta.arch.ethz.ch/courses/advanced-methods-in-the-history-and-theory-of-architecture | ||||
| Literature | Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 2011. Smith, Linda T. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, 2012 Williams, Patrick, and Laura Chrisman. Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader. London: Routledge, 2015 | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The seminar addresses the fellows of the Doctoral Program in History and Theory of Architecture. All other doctoral students of the Faculty of Architecture are welcome. | ||||
| 064-0017-20L | Research Methods in Landscape and Urban Studies | 2 credits | 2K | G. Vogt, T. Avermaete, T. Galí-Izard, C. Girot, H. Klumpner, F. Persyn, C. Schmid, M. Topalovic | |
| Abstract | Advanced PhD candidates of urban studies, urban and landscape design and urban sociology report about their experiences and insights in the concrete application of methods utilized for their research and scientific publications. Discussion of ongoing individual work, methodological questions, critical perspectives on urban and landscape design and city's relation to society. | ||||
| Learning objective | The seminar's objective is to introduce PhD students to the multitude of research methodologies, tools and techniques within the fields of urban studies, urban design, territorial planning and landscape architecture. Based on the conveyed knowledge, the seminar ultimately aims at enabling PhD candidates to critically assess existing methods and tools, and to refine and develop an academically sound research framework for their own studies. | ||||
| Content | The seminar is organized along three modules that are arranged according to the PhD classes' particular needs: A: Methodology Module >>> Introduction of a research methodology by an expert / short contributions by PhD students + exercise and discussion / moderated by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent). This will include quantitative and qualitative methods such as ethnographic research, case study research, grounded theory, survey design, mapping, methods in statistical and data analysis, etc. (3-4 per semester) B: Literature Module >>> Reading sessions organized and conducted by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent) / invited experts from the Department. These sessions will support the methodology modules with theoretical and historical texts with a specifically tailored reading syllabus. (4-5 per semester). C: Techniques Module >>> Introduction into research techniques and tools / organized by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent) / conducted by respective experts. These modules will make students familiar with technical aspects such as academic writing, or the the use of GIS software, the ETH library or the gta archive, etc.(2-3 per semester) | ||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The seminar is jointly organized by the coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Landscape and Urban Studies, and the I-LUS faculty. Although located at the D-ARCH, the seminar is open to all doctoral students at ETH who are involved or interested in research at the urban and territorial scale. This seminar is complementing the gta doctoral colloquiums on Thursday afternoons. Hybrid teaching: Personal teaching in ONA Design In Dialog Lab (ONA E25) and online teaching: https://ethz.zoom.us/j/2317208647 | ||||