Water and Time in Education and Design

Architecture and urbanism face a complex future. The necessary discussion about densification, resources, and the handling of existing structures is challenging existing practice and theory. Contemporary architectural teaching is responding to these challenges with an open process of questioning and development – ​​driven by the desire to search for and design possible answers and alternative future scenarios. The exhibition makes these searches visible by bringing together positions from teaching, research, and art.

The four projects presented are united by a central question: How are design practices changing in the context of increasing climatic challenges? This is particularly evident in the handling of water – a vital resource caught between scarcity and abundance, destruction and life. Water often influences our built environment in an invisible but crucial way. At the same time, architecture can and must help negotiate this resource in the future. Three international student research projects – from Japan to the Global South to Ticino – and an artistic performance in the city of Zurich are dedicated to this change in the flow of time and elements.

Architecture and urbanism face a complex future. The necessary discussion about densification, resources, and the treatment of existing buildings challenges current practices and theories. Contemporary architectural education responds to these issues with an open process of reflection and development – ​​driven by a curiosity for new answers and alternative future scenarios. The exhibition makes these explorations visible by bringing together positions from teaching, research and the arts.

The four projects presented are united by a central question: How are design practices evolving in response to growing climate challenges? This is particularly evident in our relationship with water – a vital resource caught between scarcity and abundance, destruction and life. Water often shapes our built environment in invisible yet essential ways. At the same time, architecture can and must contribute to the negotiation of this resource in the future. Three global student research projects – spanning Japan, the Global South, and Ticino – alongside an artistic performance in the city of Zurich, explore this transformation in the flow of time and elements.

WATER FUTURES
TU Munich, Chair of Architectural Design & Participation (Prof. Francis Kéré)
Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio – Università della Svizzera italiana, Chair of Theory of Urbanization and Urban Environment (Prof. Sascha Roesler)

ANATOMY OF CHANGE – TICINO TRILOGY
ETH Zurich, Department of Architecture, Second Modernism (Prof. Elli Mosayebi)
in cooperation with BUK, Chair of Structural Design, Chair of Sustainable Construction, Taiyo Onorato, Philipp Schaerer

TWO LAKES ふたつのみずうみ
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Engineering & Architecture, IAR (Prof. Johannes Käferstein, Prof. Dieter Geissbühler, Mulan Sun Buschor)
Kyoto Institute of Technology, KYOTO Design Lab (Prof. Erwin Viray, Prof. Masahiro Kinoshita, Prof. Hiroyuki Kimura)

Opening: 5.6.2025, 7 pm