Swiss Summer School in Basel : Food with/out nature

© OMA, Parc de la Villette, competition entry, metropolitan crop rotation, 1982

© OMA, Parc de la Villette, competition entry, metropolitan crop rotation, 1982

Under the title "food with/out nature", the Swiss Architecture Council is organising the 4th Summer School from 31 August to 7 September 2024 in Basel, organised by the FHNW in collaboration with the EPFL.

This year FHNW Institute of Architecture is organising the Swiss Summer School 2024 in cooperation with EPFL. Launched by the Swiss Architecture Council (ARAT) in 2019 this is a joint teaching format and discussion platform for all Swiss architecture schools.
Following stops in St. Gallen, Lac Léman and Mendrisio, this year’s edition will be held in Basel in late summer. Both schools, the FHNW and the EPFL, are currently studying our food systems and their impact on our architecture. As part of the Summer School they will be focussing jointly on the city of Basel.

Starting with the „fireplace“, we will spend a week exploring the city‘s food system and its interaction with the built environment. The departure point for our investigations will be spaces for the preparation, sale and consumption of food, after which we will immerse ourselves in Basel‘s food system in a number of different ways. In keeping with the breadth of the topic, we will divide into different teams, which will use very different methods for their investigations, from design-build to architectural and cultural-historical research. Like hunters and gatherers, we will return to the shared camp every evening to process the day‘s harvest while cooking and eating together. These daily „Grandes Bouffes“ will be supplemented by guest lectures and / or film screenings and will be under the curatorial direction of the teams.

Conditions of participation

  • National and international architecture students are eligible to participate.
  • Application (3 A4 pages work sample, 1 A4 page CV digital as PDF, max. 5 MB)
    to be sent to: [email protected]
  • Fees: CHF 250.
    Accommodation and one meal per day will be provided.
  • Credentials:
    Participants will receive 2 ECTS points. An additional 1 ECTS point can be earned for final papers.
    To validate these credits, you will need to register for the PENS 491 - Summer workshop course, in the autumn 2024 semester, as soon as course registration opens (this does not replace sending in the application file described above).

Applications deadline: 1st of July 2024

Summer School dates: August 31 to September 7, 2024

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