Completed PhD thesis at EAST
Dr. Tiago P. Borges and Prof. Anja Fröhlich © 2025 EPFL
Proud moment at Laboratory EAST.
Earlier this year, Tiago P. Borges earned his PhD with a thesis exploring the typological interplay between greenhouses and domestic space.
This past July, Tiago P. Borges successfully defended his PhD Thesis, "Neither House Nor Garden. Greenhouses as Domestic Spaces and the Question of Climatic Typology", under the supervision of Prof. Anja Fröhlich, at the Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Study of Types.
The dissertation calls for a critical reassessment of the role of the greenhouse in architectural history and theory. By examining the relationship between greenhouses and domestic spaces, it revisits early moments of integration and focuses on multiple case studies of the twentieth century. By framing the greenhouse as an architectural device with distinct characteristics and agency, the research traces its evolution from botanical utility to domestic significance and defends that a climate-based approach to typology is both necessary and transformative. The work opens perspectives for architectural history, contributes to typological theory, and argues for a climate-centred framework for contemporary design in architecture.
The PhD thesis was defended on Mai 1st, 2025 in front of a jury composed of Prof. Jo Taillieu (LIF EPFL), president of the jury, Prof. Anja Fröhlich (EAST EPFL) thesis supervisor, Dr Maria Shéhérazade Giudici (AA), external examiner, Dr Sascha Roesler (USI), external examiner, and Dr Bruno Marchand (EPFL), internal examiner. Accepted without reservation, the thesis was then presented to the public on July 11, 2025.
Informed by his research at Laboratory EAST, Tiago P. Borges has been teaching the design studio Greenhouse Studies to bachelor’s and master’s students in architecture since February 2025.