Projects on Territory is a thesis elective setting out to explore the various histories of urban and territorial design through selected precedent projects and ideas reflected on the territorial scale. During HS17 and FS18, we will investigate important moments of planning in Switzerland based on eight selected projects: the history of Swiss urbanism in eight pictures. Critical discussion and visual representation will be our key elements with which we attempt to interpret the value of these projects in the present time. The work will be informed by the parallel lecture series Sessions on Territory—Urbanism Beyond Neoliberalism.

In recounting the critical history of Swiss urban/territorial project for the 21st century, we will reconsider the meaning of the chosen examples, as well as their specific design techniques. In the process, the students will be introduced to some of the crucial concepts and methods of urban and territorial design, and will develop a critical understanding of the historical processes and contexts relevant to the various projects. They will also become familiar with a range of drawing techniques as critical tools for representing the project.

Each student group will research and critically analyze one of the selected precedent projects from the history of Swiss urbanism. The work will result in a book of research, a written statement, and a set of critical drawings. In creating the drawings, we will experiment with different representational techniques—this semester we will be working with the technique of silk-screen. The course will conclude with an exhibition of works and drawings.

The working sessions and silk-screen workshops take place within the semester time frame, and they alternate with the events of the lecture series. The credit points for the Wahlfacharbeit (old curriculum) and the Vertiefungsarbeit (new curriculum) can both be obtained in this course.