Assignment

New Ecologies was a studio series at Architecture of Territory at ETH Zürich dedicated to ecologising architecture. Ecological thinking, which foregrounds the interactions between organisms and their environments, is applied in considering design practices in their social and environmental effects.

Teams consisting of two students were assigned a predetermined area, which was based on a particular basic conflict. Through analysis, research and discussions, a suitable topic was to be found, which in turn led to a project through embeded in a narrative.

Concept

The land around Zurich Airport is highly embattled. Growing settlements and airport expansions cause the displacement of wetlands, forests, and agricultural area. Due to the rising pressure on unbuilt land, the so-called ecological compensation is introduced — a planning tool to regulate the handling of ecologically valuable areas: Land claimed by construction projects has to be replaced elsewhere. But the execution of this tool eventually leads to a fragmentation of compensation measures. On a local scale, hybridisation of land use through the strategy of ecological balance presents an alternative to the practice of compensation. Extending and connecting the already existing habitats, a nature belt is created around the airport territory.

The complete project can be found at the website of the Chair “Architecture of Territory”.