Modules

Each building, even the most innovative, is built in a context, is an adaptation of a topography, a transformation of an existing spatiality and culture. Architecture is always made as addition to something, the tabula rasa remains a fascinating metaphor. However, each new intervention transforms the given context and culture and makes a new one. So, what is domestic and what foreign in architecture? What common grounds are possible? Which role play conventions, expectations and cultural exchanges in architecture?

During your studies you are mostly preoccupied with the design phase for new buildings. However in this early phase of a project you only set the framework, in which the building has to evolve over the next decades or even centuries. What makes some buildings last, what makes others die? We need to understand what implications our design decisions have in terms of environmental impact, cost as well as usability and adaptability over the whole building life cycle. Exploring different models of our building helps us to project our design options into the future. We can then analyze the projected results and steer our design in the “right direction”.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

This Module deals with the basic elements of digital image making and visualization. This course explores how digital technologies are used to evoke and produce particular feelings or moods of places as architectural visualizations and images. This semester provides students with the necessary tools to successfully visualise their designs, including a multitude of techniques like 3D modeling, digital photography, montage, collage and rendering among others.

Students will be able to develop relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into forms of illustrated atmospheres. During the course students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for digital image making and visualization in a practical way. Students will be able to use specific tools to translate their architectonical ambitions and create visualized atmospheres for the communication of ideas in the practice of Architecture .

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants. Only 600 urban centers generate about 60 percent of global GDP. The urban world is shifting. Scholarly journals have published thousands of articles about urban economies. Among the questions we frequently find: Why do some cities grow faster than others? Why do some generate more wealth? Why do some decline? How do cities generate wealth, how do they apportion their wealth to further social and environmental goals?
Cities are first and foremost places—agglomerations of people—rather than economic and political units. Also, cities’ power to make economic policy is limited. While cities aren’t like nations, which can leap from rags to riches within a generation, they do have the policy apparatus to influence their economic destiny. A city’s initial size and location will largely determine which classes of economic activity are likely to succeed there and which are likely to fail.

The course will introduce you to the world of the economy of the built environment, urban and city economies, the role of private and public property, infrastructure and the build environment. The main focus is to understand the micro- and macro -economics and to endow your architectural and urban design skills with knowledge about the dynamics and responsibilities of building assets and their political, social and historical aspects. The financing, marketing and management of cities and our build environment is driven by the larger economy and related political issues: these are core drivers for most architectural design commissions and outcomes. Within this you will begin to understand the built environment as value structure, of real property interests and dynamics that determine design briefs and, together with public policy directions and planning objectives, set the stage for the design and planning profession to unfold and excel within. Familiarity with the conceptual frameworks, practical tools and language of the world of the 'built economy' and the appurtenant property market is an important asset, since, when inadequately understood and applied, development frameworks can constrain creativity and design quality - and lead to practices that can be regarded as socially, environmentally and economically unsuccessful.

The subject hence has a twin objective: to not only bestow an understanding of economy, but to do so in a manner that is applied in a political and social development framework. You will encounter the growing domain of economy in the build environment that seeks to influence our architectural excellence and the objective to interact with the drivers and champions of urban change and the involved social groups and solicit participation: taking into account that often the projects have multiple decision makers, accomplishers and reference social groups in addition to the community considered overall.

The module “Emerging Technologies in Architecture” introduces state-of-the-art technologies emerging from research or industries, from within and outside architecture, to be applied in architecture in the near future. It assesses aims at building awareness and critical appraisal of these technologies and identifies how they might transform architectural practice and thus the role of the architect.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

This module investigates and identifies the various forms and methods used to successfully mediate architecture and urban design, with particular attention paid to communication processes during the design phase of a project. Communication strategies aimed for variety of stakeholders are being discussed and the role of architectural mediation in the successful implementation of a project defined. Through the presentations of architecture mediation projects, a set of best/bad practice case-studies will be studied and analysed.

This module offers an overview of the interplay and dependencies of settlement, resource use, resilience, sufficiency, climate change and architecture, urban design and the formation of man-made landscapes. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to design sustainable, regenerative environments. Investigating and assessing recently designed and realized projects (considering topics as habitation, commercial, mixed-use, infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy production and supply, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water resource management, etc.), students will understand to what extent their future practice as architects and urban designers can contribute to more sustainable and regenerative environments.

As an alternative to the Semester abroad, students can select to pursue a research project at the University of Liechtenstein. In this module, students develop and conduct an intensive research project providing them with insights into academic research methodologies. The scope and topic need to be agreed with the Academic Director prior to an application.

"Sustainable Construction Processes" identifies key parameters and factors to be considered to guarantee a sustainable construction process. Resources, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and materiality are among the themes to be explored and to be put into relation to one another.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module provides an overview and a comparative analysis of unique building cultures. It defines parameters forming a building culture, provides a historical overview and identifies definitions of building cultures and their role in contributing to the formation of identities. Building cultures are not only assessed according to their architectural output, but also analysed and understood within their social, economic and environmental context. Special attention is being paid to resources, materiality and construction as well as the vernacular.
What substantive consistency should characterize an architecture of an historical period and a physical context? What formal continuities and discrepancies are to be found between a building, a novel or a work of art of a peculiar society? How is architecture produced? What are its roots? What should it do?
Analogies and contradictions between theories, ideologies and knowledge, as well as points of contact and contrast with other disciplines will be discussed and deepened in order to bring them simultaneously in conjunction with multiple levels of knowledge. Architecture languages are thus experienced as part of a general cultural discourse. The course will encourage students to actively investigate the specificities of different cultures, positions and tools as necessary components for a conscious architectural attitude.
This Course will explore the complex and fruitful aspects of these questions.

The course will illustrate to what extend climate change is man-made and how far we are able to measure/define it. We will discuss its causes, progressions and outlook, its systemic relationships and mutual effects with other natural processes and cycles, as well as its consequences for the planet’s and human health.

The course will then investigate the main sources of GHG and other culprits from the built environment, locating the building functions, materials, items, technologies & processes that are mostly related to climate change. Current stage of research (quantitative & qualitative) will be explored as well as current BMPs (Best Management Practices) and solutions. Case studies and lectures will introduce state-of-the-art and emerging approaches in academia and practice. Global agreements, government policies and design & construction sustainability standards will be assessed in regard to their suitability, adaptability and effectiveness.

One key aspect will be the exploration of lessons from nature (biomimicry). We will investigate the application of natural life-strategies (evolved over millennia and proven sustainable) to the conception of artefacts, processes and systems in the built environment.

The later focus of the course will shift to rendering the students’ current studio project climate neutral. Appropriate traditional and new approaches, methodologies and technologies will be studied, developed and integrated into design, in order to reduce negative project impacts (mitigate) and boost positive impacts (regenerate) on the environment. Effort shall be made to create a place-specific, locally sustainable project. At the same time, students shall devise practices through which their project will be able to tolerate changes of climate, resist disasters and adapt to future changes.

The focus of this module is on the investigation of social, economic and cultural factors driving community development in the Global North and South. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of social structures and spatial design within this process. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to investigate cases of neighbourhood and community design at various scales and socio-political contexts that highlight the potential and risks when designing for / within a community.

Some areas explored in the framework of communities and urban development include: Neighborhoods and social interaction in public space; heterotopias and spatial segregation; cultural identity, creativity and place; incentives for sharing common resources, collective action, cooperation and participation.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

‘Philosophy of Architecture’ discusses and explains essential philosophical concepts within architecture and the various positions taken with regards to contemporary cultural phenomenas. This enables students to discover their own position within a philosophical debate and to place their work within a well-grounded understanding of philosophical concepts.
The first block starts with the comparison of fashion trends with architectural design connecting both with semiotic component analysis. The question is, whether and to what extent the analogy between architecture, fashion (popular culture) and language actually works. Possible answers arise from the examples given by Jencks, Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, Alexander, Lynn and Barthes.
Architecture only becomes modern in its engagement with new media, and that in doing it radically displaces the traditional sense of space and subjectivity. Students should learn to understand their design in the same terms as drawings, photographs, writing, film and advertisements by developing new programs for their architectural models on the basis of philosophical texts (Koolhaas, Vidler, Foucault, Colomina) and film plots.
The third block deals with human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Furthermore the lecture explores the relationship between innovation, medialisation (f.e. Bollywood in the Alps), individualisation and the new emerging ‘sportscapes’, it focuses on the impact of migration and globalisation on a territory (Latour, Deleuze, Appadurai, Hagerstrand) .
The fourth block is dedicated to the cross-fertilisation of technology, art, pop culture and architecture. The course starts with mainstream philosophy of the Sixties (Critical Theory, Mc Luhan, Marcuse) and provides students with a wider perspective concerning problems that come up in contemporary architectural debates.

As an alternative to the Semester abroad, students can select to pursue a research project at the University of Liechtenstein. In this module, students develop and conduct an intensive research project providing them with insights into academic research methodologies. The scope and topic need to be agreed with the Academic Director prior to an application.

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

The focus of this module is on the basic elements of visual communication and the creation of a strong brand for the practice of architecture. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of how architecture communicates to the outside world and how it wants to be seen. Interdisciplinary approaches are analyzed and critically questioned to understand what is the right message to what sort of work.

Students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for visual communication in a practical way. Topics like typography, text, wording, imaging, photography, communication strategies will be absorbed, analyzed and discussed. Students will be able to develop topic-relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into different forms of communication.

Each building, even the most innovative, is built in a context, is an adaptation of a topography, a transformation of an existing spatiality and culture. Architecture is always made as addition to something, the tabula rasa remains a fascinating metaphor. However, each new intervention transforms the given context and culture and makes a new one. So, what is domestic and what foreign in architecture? What common grounds are possible? Which role play conventions, expectations and cultural exchanges in architecture?

During your studies you are mostly preoccupied with the design phase for new buildings. However in this early phase of a project you only set the framework, in which the building has to evolve over the next decades or even centuries. What makes some buildings last, what makes others die? We need to understand what implications our design decisions have in terms of environmental impact, cost as well as usability and adaptability over the whole building life cycle. Exploring different models of our building helps us to project our design options into the future. We can then analyze the projected results and steer our design in the “right direction”.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

This Module deals with the basic elements of digital image making and visualization. This course explores how digital technologies are used to evoke and produce particular feelings or moods of places as architectural visualizations and images. This semester provides students with the necessary tools to successfully visualise their designs, including a multitude of techniques like 3D modeling, digital photography, montage, collage and rendering among others.

Students will be able to develop relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into forms of illustrated atmospheres. During the course students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for digital image making and visualization in a practical way. Students will be able to use specific tools to translate their architectonical ambitions and create visualized atmospheres for the communication of ideas in the practice of Architecture .

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants. Only 600 urban centers generate about 60 percent of global GDP. The urban world is shifting. Scholarly journals have published thousands of articles about urban economies. Among the questions we frequently find: Why do some cities grow faster than others? Why do some generate more wealth? Why do some decline? How do cities generate wealth, how do they apportion their wealth to further social and environmental goals?
Cities are first and foremost places—agglomerations of people—rather than economic and political units. Also, cities’ power to make economic policy is limited. While cities aren’t like nations, which can leap from rags to riches within a generation, they do have the policy apparatus to influence their economic destiny. A city’s initial size and location will largely determine which classes of economic activity are likely to succeed there and which are likely to fail.

The course will introduce you to the world of the economy of the built environment, urban and city economies, the role of private and public property, infrastructure and the build environment. The main focus is to understand the micro- and macro -economics and to endow your architectural and urban design skills with knowledge about the dynamics and responsibilities of building assets and their political, social and historical aspects. The financing, marketing and management of cities and our build environment is driven by the larger economy and related political issues: these are core drivers for most architectural design commissions and outcomes. Within this you will begin to understand the built environment as value structure, of real property interests and dynamics that determine design briefs and, together with public policy directions and planning objectives, set the stage for the design and planning profession to unfold and excel within. Familiarity with the conceptual frameworks, practical tools and language of the world of the 'built economy' and the appurtenant property market is an important asset, since, when inadequately understood and applied, development frameworks can constrain creativity and design quality - and lead to practices that can be regarded as socially, environmentally and economically unsuccessful.

The subject hence has a twin objective: to not only bestow an understanding of economy, but to do so in a manner that is applied in a political and social development framework. You will encounter the growing domain of economy in the build environment that seeks to influence our architectural excellence and the objective to interact with the drivers and champions of urban change and the involved social groups and solicit participation: taking into account that often the projects have multiple decision makers, accomplishers and reference social groups in addition to the community considered overall.

The module “Emerging Technologies in Architecture” introduces state-of-the-art technologies emerging from research or industries, from within and outside architecture, to be applied in architecture in the near future. It assesses aims at building awareness and critical appraisal of these technologies and identifies how they might transform architectural practice and thus the role of the architect.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

This module investigates and identifies the various forms and methods used to successfully mediate architecture and urban design, with particular attention paid to communication processes during the design phase of a project. Communication strategies aimed for variety of stakeholders are being discussed and the role of architectural mediation in the successful implementation of a project defined. Through the presentations of architecture mediation projects, a set of best/bad practice case-studies will be studied and analysed.

This module offers an overview of the interplay and dependencies of settlement, resource use, resilience, sufficiency, climate change and architecture, urban design and the formation of man-made landscapes. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to design sustainable, regenerative environments. Investigating and assessing recently designed and realized projects (considering topics as habitation, commercial, mixed-use, infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy production and supply, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water resource management, etc.), students will understand to what extent their future practice as architects and urban designers can contribute to more sustainable and regenerative environments.

As an alternative to the Semester abroad, students can select to pursue a research project at the University of Liechtenstein. In this module, students develop and conduct an intensive research project providing them with insights into academic research methodologies. The scope and topic need to be agreed with the Academic Director prior to an application.

In the future, European cities need/have to reframe their scope/objective to go beyond the last refugee crisis in 2015. Cities need to provide enabling frameworks and structures for people, societies, and communities to effectively live and work together to ensure that migration is a positive force on the economic, social, and ecological environment. Vienna is a strong example of how the movement of people has shaped the logic of the city over several centuries. Various experts in human rights, law, history, politics, and civil service will discuss current and future challenges in city planning in an interactive and interdisciplinary way during the workshop.
Furthermore, immigrant networks of belongings and attachments will be explored by talking to people living in transitory places. We will build on the known to discover the unknown, looking at history, existing projects, organisations and networks in Vienna to develop urban planning strategies to tackle current issues.

"The history of civilisation is a history of migration."

"Sustainable Construction Processes" identifies key parameters and factors to be considered to guarantee a sustainable construction process. Resources, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and materiality are among the themes to be explored and to be put into relation to one another.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module provides an overview and a comparative analysis of unique building cultures. It defines parameters forming a building culture, provides a historical overview and identifies definitions of building cultures and their role in contributing to the formation of identities. Building cultures are not only assessed according to their architectural output, but also analysed and understood within their social, economic and environmental context. Special attention is being paid to resources, materiality and construction as well as the vernacular.
What substantive consistency should characterize an architecture of an historical period and a physical context? What formal continuities and discrepancies are to be found between a building, a novel or a work of art of a peculiar society? How is architecture produced? What are its roots? What should it do?
Analogies and contradictions between theories, ideologies and knowledge, as well as points of contact and contrast with other disciplines will be discussed and deepened in order to bring them simultaneously in conjunction with multiple levels of knowledge. Architecture languages are thus experienced as part of a general cultural discourse. The course will encourage students to actively investigate the specificities of different cultures, positions and tools as necessary components for a conscious architectural attitude.
This Course will explore the complex and fruitful aspects of these questions.

The course will illustrate to what extend climate change is man-made and how far we are able to measure/define it. We will discuss its causes, progressions and outlook, its systemic relationships and mutual effects with other natural processes and cycles, as well as its consequences for the planet’s and human health.

The course will then investigate the main sources of GHG and other culprits from the built environment, locating the building functions, materials, items, technologies & processes that are mostly related to climate change. Current stage of research (quantitative & qualitative) will be explored as well as current BMPs (Best Management Practices) and solutions. Case studies and lectures will introduce state-of-the-art and emerging approaches in academia and practice. Global agreements, government policies and design & construction sustainability standards will be assessed in regard to their suitability, adaptability and effectiveness.

One key aspect will be the exploration of lessons from nature (biomimicry). We will investigate the application of natural life-strategies (evolved over millennia and proven sustainable) to the conception of artefacts, processes and systems in the built environment.

The later focus of the course will shift to rendering the students’ current studio project climate neutral. Appropriate traditional and new approaches, methodologies and technologies will be studied, developed and integrated into design, in order to reduce negative project impacts (mitigate) and boost positive impacts (regenerate) on the environment. Effort shall be made to create a place-specific, locally sustainable project. At the same time, students shall devise practices through which their project will be able to tolerate changes of climate, resist disasters and adapt to future changes.

The focus of this module is on the investigation of social, economic and cultural factors driving community development in the Global North and South. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of social structures and spatial design within this process. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to investigate cases of neighbourhood and community design at various scales and socio-political contexts that highlight the potential and risks when designing for / within a community.

Some areas explored in the framework of communities and urban development include: Neighborhoods and social interaction in public space; heterotopias and spatial segregation; cultural identity, creativity and place; incentives for sharing common resources, collective action, cooperation and participation.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

‘Philosophy of Architecture’ discusses and explains essential philosophical concepts within architecture and the various positions taken with regards to contemporary cultural phenomenas. This enables students to discover their own position within a philosophical debate and to place their work within a well-grounded understanding of philosophical concepts.
The first block starts with the comparison of fashion trends with architectural design connecting both with semiotic component analysis. The question is, whether and to what extent the analogy between architecture, fashion (popular culture) and language actually works. Possible answers arise from the examples given by Jencks, Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, Alexander, Lynn and Barthes.
Architecture only becomes modern in its engagement with new media, and that in doing it radically displaces the traditional sense of space and subjectivity. Students should learn to understand their design in the same terms as drawings, photographs, writing, film and advertisements by developing new programs for their architectural models on the basis of philosophical texts (Koolhaas, Vidler, Foucault, Colomina) and film plots.
The third block deals with human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Furthermore the lecture explores the relationship between innovation, medialisation (f.e. Bollywood in the Alps), individualisation and the new emerging ‘sportscapes’, it focuses on the impact of migration and globalisation on a territory (Latour, Deleuze, Appadurai, Hagerstrand) .
The fourth block is dedicated to the cross-fertilisation of technology, art, pop culture and architecture. The course starts with mainstream philosophy of the Sixties (Critical Theory, Mc Luhan, Marcuse) and provides students with a wider perspective concerning problems that come up in contemporary architectural debates.

As an alternative to the Semester abroad, students can select to pursue a research project at the University of Liechtenstein. In this module, students develop and conduct an intensive research project providing them with insights into academic research methodologies. The scope and topic need to be agreed with the Academic Director prior to an application.

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

The focus of this module is on the basic elements of visual communication and the creation of a strong brand for the practice of architecture. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of how architecture communicates to the outside world and how it wants to be seen. Interdisciplinary approaches are analyzed and critically questioned to understand what is the right message to what sort of work.

Students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for visual communication in a practical way. Topics like typography, text, wording, imaging, photography, communication strategies will be absorbed, analyzed and discussed. Students will be able to develop topic-relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into different forms of communication.

Each building, even the most innovative, is built in a context, is an adaptation of a topography, a transformation of an existing spatiality and culture. Architecture is always made as addition to something, the tabula rasa remains a fascinating metaphor. However, each new intervention transforms the given context and culture and makes a new one. So, what is domestic and what foreign in architecture? What common grounds are possible? Which role play conventions, expectations and cultural exchanges in architecture?

During your studies you are mostly preoccupied with the design phase for new buildings. However in this early phase of a project you only set the framework, in which the building has to evolve over the next decades or even centuries. What makes some buildings last, what makes others die? We need to understand what implications our design decisions have in terms of environmental impact, cost as well as usability and adaptability over the whole building life cycle. Exploring different models of our building helps us to project our design options into the future. We can then analyze the projected results and steer our design in the “right direction”.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

This Module deals with the basic elements of digital image making and visualization. This course explores how digital technologies are used to evoke and produce particular feelings or moods of places as architectural visualizations and images. This semester provides students with the necessary tools to successfully visualise their designs, including a multitude of techniques like 3D modeling, digital photography, montage, collage and rendering among others.

Students will be able to develop relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into forms of illustrated atmospheres. During the course students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for digital image making and visualization in a practical way. Students will be able to use specific tools to translate their architectonical ambitions and create visualized atmospheres for the communication of ideas in the practice of Architecture .

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants. Only 600 urban centers generate about 60 percent of global GDP. The urban world is shifting. Scholarly journals have published thousands of articles about urban economies. Among the questions we frequently find: Why do some cities grow faster than others? Why do some generate more wealth? Why do some decline? How do cities generate wealth, how do they apportion their wealth to further social and environmental goals?
Cities are first and foremost places—agglomerations of people—rather than economic and political units. Also, cities’ power to make economic policy is limited. While cities aren’t like nations, which can leap from rags to riches within a generation, they do have the policy apparatus to influence their economic destiny. A city’s initial size and location will largely determine which classes of economic activity are likely to succeed there and which are likely to fail.

The course will introduce you to the world of the economy of the built environment, urban and city economies, the role of private and public property, infrastructure and the build environment. The main focus is to understand the micro- and macro -economics and to endow your architectural and urban design skills with knowledge about the dynamics and responsibilities of building assets and their political, social and historical aspects. The financing, marketing and management of cities and our build environment is driven by the larger economy and related political issues: these are core drivers for most architectural design commissions and outcomes. Within this you will begin to understand the built environment as value structure, of real property interests and dynamics that determine design briefs and, together with public policy directions and planning objectives, set the stage for the design and planning profession to unfold and excel within. Familiarity with the conceptual frameworks, practical tools and language of the world of the 'built economy' and the appurtenant property market is an important asset, since, when inadequately understood and applied, development frameworks can constrain creativity and design quality - and lead to practices that can be regarded as socially, environmentally and economically unsuccessful.

The subject hence has a twin objective: to not only bestow an understanding of economy, but to do so in a manner that is applied in a political and social development framework. You will encounter the growing domain of economy in the build environment that seeks to influence our architectural excellence and the objective to interact with the drivers and champions of urban change and the involved social groups and solicit participation: taking into account that often the projects have multiple decision makers, accomplishers and reference social groups in addition to the community considered overall.

The module “Emerging Technologies in Architecture” introduces state-of-the-art technologies emerging from research or industries, from within and outside architecture, to be applied in architecture in the near future. It assesses aims at building awareness and critical appraisal of these technologies and identifies how they might transform architectural practice and thus the role of the architect.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

This module investigates and identifies the various forms and methods used to successfully mediate architecture and urban design, with particular attention paid to communication processes during the design phase of a project. Communication strategies aimed for variety of stakeholders are being discussed and the role of architectural mediation in the successful implementation of a project defined. Through the presentations of architecture mediation projects, a set of best/bad practice case-studies will be studied and analysed.

This module offers an overview of the interplay and dependencies of settlement, resource use, resilience, sufficiency, climate change and architecture, urban design and the formation of man-made landscapes. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to design sustainable, regenerative environments. Investigating and assessing recently designed and realized projects (considering topics as habitation, commercial, mixed-use, infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy production and supply, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water resource management, etc.), students will understand to what extent their future practice as architects and urban designers can contribute to more sustainable and regenerative environments.

"Sustainable Construction Processes" identifies key parameters and factors to be considered to guarantee a sustainable construction process. Resources, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and materiality are among the themes to be explored and to be put into relation to one another.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module provides an overview and a comparative analysis of unique building cultures. It defines parameters forming a building culture, provides a historical overview and identifies definitions of building cultures and their role in contributing to the formation of identities. Building cultures are not only assessed according to their architectural output, but also analysed and understood within their social, economic and environmental context. Special attention is being paid to resources, materiality and construction as well as the vernacular.
What substantive consistency should characterize an architecture of an historical period and a physical context? What formal continuities and discrepancies are to be found between a building, a novel or a work of art of a peculiar society? How is architecture produced? What are its roots? What should it do?
Analogies and contradictions between theories, ideologies and knowledge, as well as points of contact and contrast with other disciplines will be discussed and deepened in order to bring them simultaneously in conjunction with multiple levels of knowledge. Architecture languages are thus experienced as part of a general cultural discourse. The course will encourage students to actively investigate the specificities of different cultures, positions and tools as necessary components for a conscious architectural attitude.
This Course will explore the complex and fruitful aspects of these questions.

The course will illustrate to what extend climate change is man-made and how far we are able to measure/define it. We will discuss its causes, progressions and outlook, its systemic relationships and mutual effects with other natural processes and cycles, as well as its consequences for the planet’s and human health.

The course will then investigate the main sources of GHG and other culprits from the built environment, locating the building functions, materials, items, technologies & processes that are mostly related to climate change. Current stage of research (quantitative & qualitative) will be explored as well as current BMPs (Best Management Practices) and solutions. Case studies and lectures will introduce state-of-the-art and emerging approaches in academia and practice. Global agreements, government policies and design & construction sustainability standards will be assessed in regard to their suitability, adaptability and effectiveness.

One key aspect will be the exploration of lessons from nature (biomimicry). We will investigate the application of natural life-strategies (evolved over millennia and proven sustainable) to the conception of artefacts, processes and systems in the built environment.

The later focus of the course will shift to rendering the students’ current studio project climate neutral. Appropriate traditional and new approaches, methodologies and technologies will be studied, developed and integrated into design, in order to reduce negative project impacts (mitigate) and boost positive impacts (regenerate) on the environment. Effort shall be made to create a place-specific, locally sustainable project. At the same time, students shall devise practices through which their project will be able to tolerate changes of climate, resist disasters and adapt to future changes.

The focus of this module is on the investigation of social, economic and cultural factors driving community development in the Global North and South. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of social structures and spatial design within this process. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to investigate cases of neighbourhood and community design at various scales and socio-political contexts that highlight the potential and risks when designing for / within a community.

Some areas explored in the framework of communities and urban development include: Neighborhoods and social interaction in public space; heterotopias and spatial segregation; cultural identity, creativity and place; incentives for sharing common resources, collective action, cooperation and participation.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

‘Philosophy of Architecture’ discusses and explains essential philosophical concepts within architecture and the various positions taken with regards to contemporary cultural phenomenas. This enables students to discover their own position within a philosophical debate and to place their work within a well-grounded understanding of philosophical concepts.
The first block starts with the comparison of fashion trends with architectural design connecting both with semiotic component analysis. The question is, whether and to what extent the analogy between architecture, fashion (popular culture) and language actually works. Possible answers arise from the examples given by Jencks, Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, Alexander, Lynn and Barthes.
Architecture only becomes modern in its engagement with new media, and that in doing it radically displaces the traditional sense of space and subjectivity. Students should learn to understand their design in the same terms as drawings, photographs, writing, film and advertisements by developing new programs for their architectural models on the basis of philosophical texts (Koolhaas, Vidler, Foucault, Colomina) and film plots.
The third block deals with human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Furthermore the lecture explores the relationship between innovation, medialisation (f.e. Bollywood in the Alps), individualisation and the new emerging ‘sportscapes’, it focuses on the impact of migration and globalisation on a territory (Latour, Deleuze, Appadurai, Hagerstrand) .
The fourth block is dedicated to the cross-fertilisation of technology, art, pop culture and architecture. The course starts with mainstream philosophy of the Sixties (Critical Theory, Mc Luhan, Marcuse) and provides students with a wider perspective concerning problems that come up in contemporary architectural debates.

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

The focus of this module is on the basic elements of visual communication and the creation of a strong brand for the practice of architecture. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of how architecture communicates to the outside world and how it wants to be seen. Interdisciplinary approaches are analyzed and critically questioned to understand what is the right message to what sort of work.

Students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for visual communication in a practical way. Topics like typography, text, wording, imaging, photography, communication strategies will be absorbed, analyzed and discussed. Students will be able to develop topic-relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into different forms of communication.

Each building, even the most innovative, is built in a context, is an adaptation of a topography, a transformation of an existing spatiality and culture. Architecture is always made as addition to something, the tabula rasa remains a fascinating metaphor. However, each new intervention transforms the given context and culture and makes a new one. So, what is domestic and what foreign in architecture? What common grounds are possible? Which role play conventions, expectations and cultural exchanges in architecture?

During your studies you are mostly preoccupied with the design phase for new buildings. However in this early phase of a project you only set the framework, in which the building has to evolve over the next decades or even centuries. What makes some buildings last, what makes others die? We need to understand what implications our design decisions have in terms of environmental impact, cost as well as usability and adaptability over the whole building life cycle. Exploring different models of our building helps us to project our design options into the future. We can then analyze the projected results and steer our design in the “right direction”.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

This Module deals with the basic elements of digital image making and visualization. This course explores how digital technologies are used to evoke and produce particular feelings or moods of places as architectural visualizations and images. This semester provides students with the necessary tools to successfully visualise their designs, including a multitude of techniques like 3D modeling, digital photography, montage, collage and rendering among others.

Students will be able to develop relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into forms of illustrated atmospheres. During the course students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for digital image making and visualization in a practical way. Students will be able to use specific tools to translate their architectonical ambitions and create visualized atmospheres for the communication of ideas in the practice of Architecture .

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants. Only 600 urban centers generate about 60 percent of global GDP. The urban world is shifting. Scholarly journals have published thousands of articles about urban economies. Among the questions we frequently find: Why do some cities grow faster than others? Why do some generate more wealth? Why do some decline? How do cities generate wealth, how do they apportion their wealth to further social and environmental goals?
Cities are first and foremost places—agglomerations of people—rather than economic and political units. Also, cities’ power to make economic policy is limited. While cities aren’t like nations, which can leap from rags to riches within a generation, they do have the policy apparatus to influence their economic destiny. A city’s initial size and location will largely determine which classes of economic activity are likely to succeed there and which are likely to fail.

The course will introduce you to the world of the economy of the built environment, urban and city economies, the role of private and public property, infrastructure and the build environment. The main focus is to understand the micro- and macro -economics and to endow your architectural and urban design skills with knowledge about the dynamics and responsibilities of building assets and their political, social and historical aspects. The financing, marketing and management of cities and our build environment is driven by the larger economy and related political issues: these are core drivers for most architectural design commissions and outcomes. Within this you will begin to understand the built environment as value structure, of real property interests and dynamics that determine design briefs and, together with public policy directions and planning objectives, set the stage for the design and planning profession to unfold and excel within. Familiarity with the conceptual frameworks, practical tools and language of the world of the 'built economy' and the appurtenant property market is an important asset, since, when inadequately understood and applied, development frameworks can constrain creativity and design quality - and lead to practices that can be regarded as socially, environmentally and economically unsuccessful.

The subject hence has a twin objective: to not only bestow an understanding of economy, but to do so in a manner that is applied in a political and social development framework. You will encounter the growing domain of economy in the build environment that seeks to influence our architectural excellence and the objective to interact with the drivers and champions of urban change and the involved social groups and solicit participation: taking into account that often the projects have multiple decision makers, accomplishers and reference social groups in addition to the community considered overall.

The module “Emerging Technologies in Architecture” introduces state-of-the-art technologies emerging from research or industries, from within and outside architecture, to be applied in architecture in the near future. It assesses aims at building awareness and critical appraisal of these technologies and identifies how they might transform architectural practice and thus the role of the architect.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

This module investigates and identifies the various forms and methods used to successfully mediate architecture and urban design, with particular attention paid to communication processes during the design phase of a project. Communication strategies aimed for variety of stakeholders are being discussed and the role of architectural mediation in the successful implementation of a project defined. Through the presentations of architecture mediation projects, a set of best/bad practice case-studies will be studied and analysed.

This module offers an overview of the interplay and dependencies of settlement, resource use, resilience, sufficiency, climate change and architecture, urban design and the formation of man-made landscapes. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to design sustainable, regenerative environments. Investigating and assessing recently designed and realized projects (considering topics as habitation, commercial, mixed-use, infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy production and supply, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water resource management, etc.), students will understand to what extent their future practice as architects and urban designers can contribute to more sustainable and regenerative environments.

"Sustainable Construction Processes" identifies key parameters and factors to be considered to guarantee a sustainable construction process. Resources, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and materiality are among the themes to be explored and to be put into relation to one another.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module provides an overview and a comparative analysis of unique building cultures. It defines parameters forming a building culture, provides a historical overview and identifies definitions of building cultures and their role in contributing to the formation of identities. Building cultures are not only assessed according to their architectural output, but also analysed and understood within their social, economic and environmental context. Special attention is being paid to resources, materiality and construction as well as the vernacular.
What substantive consistency should characterize an architecture of an historical period and a physical context? What formal continuities and discrepancies are to be found between a building, a novel or a work of art of a peculiar society? How is architecture produced? What are its roots? What should it do?
Analogies and contradictions between theories, ideologies and knowledge, as well as points of contact and contrast with other disciplines will be discussed and deepened in order to bring them simultaneously in conjunction with multiple levels of knowledge. Architecture languages are thus experienced as part of a general cultural discourse. The course will encourage students to actively investigate the specificities of different cultures, positions and tools as necessary components for a conscious architectural attitude.
This Course will explore the complex and fruitful aspects of these questions.

The course will illustrate to what extend climate change is man-made and how far we are able to measure/define it. We will discuss its causes, progressions and outlook, its systemic relationships and mutual effects with other natural processes and cycles, as well as its consequences for the planet’s and human health.

The course will then investigate the main sources of GHG and other culprits from the built environment, locating the building functions, materials, items, technologies & processes that are mostly related to climate change. Current stage of research (quantitative & qualitative) will be explored as well as current BMPs (Best Management Practices) and solutions. Case studies and lectures will introduce state-of-the-art and emerging approaches in academia and practice. Global agreements, government policies and design & construction sustainability standards will be assessed in regard to their suitability, adaptability and effectiveness.

One key aspect will be the exploration of lessons from nature (biomimicry). We will investigate the application of natural life-strategies (evolved over millennia and proven sustainable) to the conception of artefacts, processes and systems in the built environment.

The later focus of the course will shift to rendering the students’ current studio project climate neutral. Appropriate traditional and new approaches, methodologies and technologies will be studied, developed and integrated into design, in order to reduce negative project impacts (mitigate) and boost positive impacts (regenerate) on the environment. Effort shall be made to create a place-specific, locally sustainable project. At the same time, students shall devise practices through which their project will be able to tolerate changes of climate, resist disasters and adapt to future changes.

The focus of this module is on the investigation of social, economic and cultural factors driving community development in the Global North and South. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of social structures and spatial design within this process. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to investigate cases of neighbourhood and community design at various scales and socio-political contexts that highlight the potential and risks when designing for / within a community.

Some areas explored in the framework of communities and urban development include: Neighborhoods and social interaction in public space; heterotopias and spatial segregation; cultural identity, creativity and place; incentives for sharing common resources, collective action, cooperation and participation.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

‘Philosophy of Architecture’ discusses and explains essential philosophical concepts within architecture and the various positions taken with regards to contemporary cultural phenomenas. This enables students to discover their own position within a philosophical debate and to place their work within a well-grounded understanding of philosophical concepts.
The first block starts with the comparison of fashion trends with architectural design connecting both with semiotic component analysis. The question is, whether and to what extent the analogy between architecture, fashion (popular culture) and language actually works. Possible answers arise from the examples given by Jencks, Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, Alexander, Lynn and Barthes.
Architecture only becomes modern in its engagement with new media, and that in doing it radically displaces the traditional sense of space and subjectivity. Students should learn to understand their design in the same terms as drawings, photographs, writing, film and advertisements by developing new programs for their architectural models on the basis of philosophical texts (Koolhaas, Vidler, Foucault, Colomina) and film plots.
The third block deals with human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Furthermore the lecture explores the relationship between innovation, medialisation (f.e. Bollywood in the Alps), individualisation and the new emerging ‘sportscapes’, it focuses on the impact of migration and globalisation on a territory (Latour, Deleuze, Appadurai, Hagerstrand) .
The fourth block is dedicated to the cross-fertilisation of technology, art, pop culture and architecture. The course starts with mainstream philosophy of the Sixties (Critical Theory, Mc Luhan, Marcuse) and provides students with a wider perspective concerning problems that come up in contemporary architectural debates.

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

The focus of this module is on the basic elements of visual communication and the creation of a strong brand for the practice of architecture. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of how architecture communicates to the outside world and how it wants to be seen. Interdisciplinary approaches are analyzed and critically questioned to understand what is the right message to what sort of work.

Students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for visual communication in a practical way. Topics like typography, text, wording, imaging, photography, communication strategies will be absorbed, analyzed and discussed. Students will be able to develop topic-relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into different forms of communication.

Each building, even the most innovative, is built in a context, is an adaptation of a topography, a transformation of an existing spatiality and culture. Architecture is always made as addition to something, the tabula rasa remains a fascinating metaphor. However, each new intervention transforms the given context and culture and makes a new one. So, what is domestic and what foreign in architecture? What common grounds are possible? Which role play conventions, expectations and cultural exchanges in architecture?

During your studies you are mostly preoccupied with the design phase for new buildings. However in this early phase of a project you only set the framework, in which the building has to evolve over the next decades or even centuries. What makes some buildings last, what makes others die? We need to understand what implications our design decisions have in terms of environmental impact, cost as well as usability and adaptability over the whole building life cycle. Exploring different models of our building helps us to project our design options into the future. We can then analyze the projected results and steer our design in the “right direction”.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

This Module deals with the basic elements of digital image making and visualization. This course explores how digital technologies are used to evoke and produce particular feelings or moods of places as architectural visualizations and images. This semester provides students with the necessary tools to successfully visualise their designs, including a multitude of techniques like 3D modeling, digital photography, montage, collage and rendering among others.

Students will be able to develop relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into forms of illustrated atmospheres. During the course students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for digital image making and visualization in a practical way. Students will be able to use specific tools to translate their architectonical ambitions and create visualized atmospheres for the communication of ideas in the practice of Architecture .

Today, major urban areas in developed regions are, without doubt, economic giants. Only 600 urban centers generate about 60 percent of global GDP. The urban world is shifting. Scholarly journals have published thousands of articles about urban economies. Among the questions we frequently find: Why do some cities grow faster than others? Why do some generate more wealth? Why do some decline? How do cities generate wealth, how do they apportion their wealth to further social and environmental goals?
Cities are first and foremost places—agglomerations of people—rather than economic and political units. Also, cities’ power to make economic policy is limited. While cities aren’t like nations, which can leap from rags to riches within a generation, they do have the policy apparatus to influence their economic destiny. A city’s initial size and location will largely determine which classes of economic activity are likely to succeed there and which are likely to fail.

The course will introduce you to the world of the economy of the built environment, urban and city economies, the role of private and public property, infrastructure and the build environment. The main focus is to understand the micro- and macro -economics and to endow your architectural and urban design skills with knowledge about the dynamics and responsibilities of building assets and their political, social and historical aspects. The financing, marketing and management of cities and our build environment is driven by the larger economy and related political issues: these are core drivers for most architectural design commissions and outcomes. Within this you will begin to understand the built environment as value structure, of real property interests and dynamics that determine design briefs and, together with public policy directions and planning objectives, set the stage for the design and planning profession to unfold and excel within. Familiarity with the conceptual frameworks, practical tools and language of the world of the 'built economy' and the appurtenant property market is an important asset, since, when inadequately understood and applied, development frameworks can constrain creativity and design quality - and lead to practices that can be regarded as socially, environmentally and economically unsuccessful.

The subject hence has a twin objective: to not only bestow an understanding of economy, but to do so in a manner that is applied in a political and social development framework. You will encounter the growing domain of economy in the build environment that seeks to influence our architectural excellence and the objective to interact with the drivers and champions of urban change and the involved social groups and solicit participation: taking into account that often the projects have multiple decision makers, accomplishers and reference social groups in addition to the community considered overall.

The module “Emerging Technologies in Architecture” introduces state‐of‐the‐art technologies emerging from research or industries, from within and outside architecture, to be applied in architecture in the near future. It assesses aims at building awareness and critical appraisal of these technologies and identifies how they might transform architectural practice and thus the role of the architect.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

This module investigates and identifies the various forms and methods used to successfully mediate architecture and urban design, with particular attention paid to communication processes during the design phase of a project. Communication strategies aimed for variety of stakeholders are being discussed and the role of architectural mediation in the successful implementation of a project defined. Through the presentations of architecture mediation projects, a set of best/bad practice case-studies will be studied and analysed.

This module offers an overview of the interplay and dependencies of settlement, resource use, resilience, sufficiency, climate change and architecture, urban design and the formation of man-made landscapes. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to design sustainable, regenerative environments. Investigating and assessing recently designed and realized projects (considering topics as habitation, commercial, mixed-use, infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy production and supply, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water resource management, etc.), students will understand to what extent their future practice as architects and urban designers can contribute to more sustainable and regenerative environments.

"Sustainable Construction Processes" identifies key parameters and factors to be considered to guarantee a sustainable construction process. Resources, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and materiality are among the themes to be explored and to be put into relation to one another.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module provides an overview and a comparative analysis of unique building cultures. It defines parameters forming a building culture, provides a historical overview and identifies definitions of building cultures and their role in contributing to the formation of identities. Building cultures are not only assessed according to their architectural output, but also analysed and understood within their social, economic and environmental context. Special attention is being paid to resources, materiality and construction as well as the vernacular.
What substantive consistency should characterize an architecture of an historical period and a physical context? What formal continuities and discrepancies are to be found between a building, a novel or a work of art of a peculiar society? How is architecture produced? What are its roots? What should it do?
Analogies and contradictions between theories, ideologies and knowledge, as well as points of contact and contrast with other disciplines will be discussed and deepened in order to bring them simultaneously in conjunction with multiple levels of knowledge. Architecture languages are thus experienced as part of a general cultural discourse. The course will encourage students to actively investigate the specificities of different cultures, positions and tools as necessary components for a conscious architectural attitude.
This Course will explore the complex and fruitful aspects of these questions.

The course will illustrate to what extend climate change is man-made and how far we are able to measure/define it. We will discuss its causes, progressions and outlook, its systemic relationships and mutual effects with other natural processes and cycles, as well as its consequences for the planet’s and human health.

The course will then investigate the main sources of GHG and other culprits from the built environment, locating the building functions, materials, items, technologies & processes that are mostly related to climate change. Current stage of research (quantitative & qualitative) will be explored as well as current BMPs (Best Management Practices) and solutions. Case studies and lectures will introduce state-of-the-art and emerging approaches in academia and practice. Global agreements, government policies and design & construction sustainability standards will be assessed in regard to their suitability, adaptability and effectiveness.

One key aspect will be the exploration of lessons from nature (biomimicry). We will investigate the application of natural life-strategies (evolved over millennia and proven sustainable) to the conception of artefacts, processes and systems in the built environment.

The later focus of the course will shift to rendering the students’ current studio project climate neutral. Appropriate traditional and new approaches, methodologies and technologies will be studied, developed and integrated into design, in order to reduce negative project impacts (mitigate) and boost positive impacts (regenerate) on the environment. Effort shall be made to create a place-specific, locally sustainable project. At the same time, students shall devise practices through which their project will be able to tolerate changes of climate, resist disasters and adapt to future changes.

The focus of this module is on the investigation of social, economic and cultural factors driving community development in the Global North and South. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of social structures and spatial design within this process. Interdisciplinary approaches are used to investigate cases of neighbourhood and community design at various scales and socio-political contexts that highlight the potential and risks when designing for / within a community.

Some areas explored in the framework of communities and urban development include: Neighborhoods and social interaction in public space; heterotopias and spatial segregation; cultural identity, creativity and place; incentives for sharing common resources, collective action, cooperation and participation.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

During an intensive weekly workshop it enables students to further deepen their knowledge of an issue addressed in the project studios and/ or conduct excursions to places and sites addressed in their design project.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The design studio engages students with architecture as a responsible practice on a variety of scales applying a multitude of design- and research methods, preparing them for the demands of the broad field of architecture and planning. Architectural and urban design is practiced in the context of projects of varying complexity, ranging from constructive building details and structures, to devising groups of structures and entire settlements and habitats. Design projects are represented in drawings, models, images, and by using all other available media. Teamwork is conducted with particular attention to the internal organization and workings of the teams.

The master's thesis consists of an analysis that investigates the context within which a project is set, identifying its challenges, the formulation of one or more working hypotheses and research questions which form the basis for the design proposal and the written thesis. A developed hypothesis is verified (or falsified) within the context of a given or freely chosen project, developing it into a designed architectural proposal and/ or into an in-depth theoretical or historical-theoretical investigation.

‘Philosophy of Architecture’ discusses and explains essential philosophical concepts within architecture and the various positions taken with regards to contemporary cultural phenomenas. This enables students to discover their own position within a philosophical debate and to place their work within a well-grounded understanding of philosophical concepts.
The first block starts with the comparison of fashion trends with architectural design connecting both with semiotic component analysis. The question is, whether and to what extent the analogy between architecture, fashion (popular culture) and language actually works. Possible answers arise from the examples given by Jencks, Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, Alexander, Lynn and Barthes.
Architecture only becomes modern in its engagement with new media, and that in doing it radically displaces the traditional sense of space and subjectivity. Students should learn to understand their design in the same terms as drawings, photographs, writing, film and advertisements by developing new programs for their architectural models on the basis of philosophical texts (Koolhaas, Vidler, Foucault, Colomina) and film plots.
The third block deals with human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Furthermore the lecture explores the relationship between innovation, medialisation (f.e. Bollywood in the Alps), individualisation and the new emerging ‘sportscapes’, it focuses on the impact of migration and globalisation on a territory (Latour, Deleuze, Appadurai, Hagerstrand) .
The fourth block is dedicated to the cross-fertilisation of technology, art, pop culture and architecture. The course starts with mainstream philosophy of the Sixties (Critical Theory, Mc Luhan, Marcuse) and provides students with a wider perspective concerning problems that come up in contemporary architectural debates.

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

The focus of this module is on the basic elements of visual communication and the creation of a strong brand for the practice of architecture. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of how architecture communicates to the outside world and how it wants to be seen. Interdisciplinary approaches are analyzed and critically questioned to understand what is the right message to what sort of work.

Students will take part in workshops and lectures to develop skills for visual communication in a practical way. Topics like typography, text, wording, imaging, photography, communication strategies will be absorbed, analyzed and discussed. Students will be able to develop topic-relevant techniques to translate original architectural ambitions and ideas into different forms of communication.

The content of this module is closely related to the unit projects that typically include the design of buildings, their sitting, their energy use, the choice of construction, materials and processes, as well as the quality of their internal environment and micro-climate with a focus on the issues of sustainability and the performance of the building envelope.

• The practice of building physics focussing the interaction between building envelope and building services.
• Studies of Building Services and Technologies imparting knowledge of technologies that allow controlling and optimizing energy flows within a building.
• Material Sciences offering the basis for construction of an intelligent building envelope.

The content of this module is closely related to the unit projects that typically include the design of buildings, their sitting, their energy use, the choice of construction, materials and processes, as well as the quality of their internal environment and micro-climate with a focus on the issues of sustainability and the performance of the building envelope.

• The practice of building physics focussing the interaction between building envelope and building services.
• Studies of Building Services and Technologies imparting knowledge of technologies that allow controlling and optimizing energy flows within a building.
• Material Sciences offering the basis for construction of an intelligent building envelope.

The content of this module is closely related to the unit projects that typically include the design of buildings, their sitting, their energy use, the choice of construction, materials and processes, as well as the quality of their internal environment and micro-climate with a focus on the issues of sustainability and the performance of the building envelope.

• The practice of building physics focussing the interaction between building envelope and building services.
• Studies of Building Services and Technologies imparting knowledge of technologies that allow controlling and optimizing energy flows within a building.
• Material Sciences offering the basis for construction of an intelligent building envelope.