Baukultur

Paola Viganò is an architect and urbanist, and full professor in Urban Theory and Urban Design at Iuav University of Venice and EPFL Lausanne, where she directs the Habitat Research Center. Together with Bernardo Secchi, she founded Studio, today StudioPaolaViganò. Valentin Bourdon is an architect, researcher, and lecturer. He graduated from the École d'Architecture de la Ville et des Territoires Paris-Est in Marne-la-Vallée with Jacques Lucan. He coordinated the new ETH EPFL Master of Advanced Studies in Urban and Territorial Design, as well as the activities of the Habitat Research Centre at EPFL with Paola Viganò. By joining the General Management of the Office de l'Urbanisme of the Canton of Geneva, he continues to foster links between academia and applied research. Anna Livia Friel is an architect and researcher. She studied at the École Nationale Superieure d'Architecture Paris La Villette and Iuav University of Venice where she graduated in 2014. She has been visiting PhD at the American University of Beirut and she is currently visiting at the TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology).

Applies the concept of "Baukultur" to specific architectural practices to study their built environment. The notion of "Baukultur" marked a fundamental step towards a comprehensive definition of the environment. The idea that landscape, historical architectural heritage, and the existing built context could converge to portray the richness and complexity of our future habitat now points to a collective strategic approach to design. In this context, the value of architecture emerges in several economic aspects, but also and essentially as a tool to convey the culture of transition within the Baukultur. Baukultur structures a theoretical framework around these concepts leaning on the research, design, and academic experience of six architectural and urban design practices, as specific readings of the existing built environment.