Transition workshop / Theory masterclass

TRANSITION WORKSHOP 2024: ECOLOGICAL DENSITIES
THEORY MASTERCLASS

 

The Transition Workshop1_ Theory Masterclass is the first theoretical part of a complete interdisciplinary and intensive training on the pathways for decarbonizing and resilient cities and regions, entitled Transition Workshop. The second, practical part, entitled Transition Workshop 2_ Design Studio.

The complete course aims to offer to students in the architecture and planning disciplines the necessary knowledge and know-how to address the complex problems of the ecological transition for buildings, cities and regions. The target is to boost a new form of engagement reinforced by up-to-date interdisciplinary expertise on all scales of the design process.

 

The TW offers a new educational framework to accelerate the ecological transition of the built realm. It aims to deepen the knowledge on the built environment and its sustainable development, develop and transmit design tools and methods for debarbonazing and resilient cities, and train new generation of professionals to face the climate emergency.

EDAR PhD Students can either attend the first theoretical part (EDAR course "Transition Workshop 2024: Theory Masterclass"), or to attend the full programme (see the EDAR Course "Transition Workshop 2024").

 

Invited lecturers:

Graham Alabaster, Christian Aspernger, Sarah Barth, Claudia Binder, Duncan Baker-Brown, Dominique Bourg, Tobias Brosch, Peter Droege, Carmen de Jong, François Gemenne, Gregory Giuliani, Camille Gilloots, Andrea Gritti, Susanna Hecht, Alexandre Hedjazi, Pierre Hollmuller, Panos Mantziaras, Sonia Lavadinho, Anthony Lehmann, Winy Maas, Martine Rebetez, Robert Sadleir, Martin Schlaepfer, Dirk Sijmons, Paola Viganò, Marjolein Visser, Mathis Wackernagel.

The aim of the Theory Masterclass is to propose a concise and rigorous overview to the issues and dimensions of the ecological transition in the spatial organization and transformation of the built environment, with a cross-disciplinary overview of data and tools for the analysis of the climate emergencies and the ways we need to invent to face them.

The Theory Masterclass is based on 24 courses and four coordination sessions delivered by renowned experts in a variety of fields that are indispensable for the understanding of the ecological transition: climate change, biodiversity, resources, energy, water management, food systems, psychology, sociology, economics, demographics, architecture, urbanism, regional planning, landscape. The courses offer a concise introduction to the challenges, the latest theoretical advancements and the most recent data on the environmental crisis.

Organization

 

The lectures are organized in the following four 2.5 day modules, and presented by an array of international experts:

 

1. The Challenge of the Ecological Transition / Climate change, water resources, food systems, and the ecological footprint.
February 15th - February 17th.

 

2. Parameters and Dimensions / Energy, resources, biodiversity, economy and history.
March 14th - March 16th.

 

3. The Human Factor / Psychology, innovation, mobility, entrepreneurship, and activism.
May 2nd - May 4th

 

4. The Building Factor / Buildings, cities, landscapes and regions.

June 6th - June 8th

Parallel to the courses, participants are handed with a Comprehensive Reader composed of scientific articles of the lecturers.

 

Evaluation
Following the course, PhD students will be asked to provide a final paper based on the scientific matter presented live and in the Comprehensive Reader. The paper is invited address the student's particular interests and scopes regarding the Transition by Design.

 

The workshop is being held on site (or online, for exceptional reasons only) in the exceptional historical headquarters of the Foundation, in Central Geneva.