Tom Avermaete: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2019

Award: The Golden Owl
Name Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete
FieldHistory and Theory of Urban Design
Address
Geschichte u.Theorie d. Städtebaus
ETH Zürich, HIL D 70.7
Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5
8093 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 633 73 09
E-mailtom.avermaete@gta.arch.ethz.ch
DepartmentArchitecture
RelationshipFull Professor

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
051-1205-19LIntegrated Discipline History of Urban Design Information Restricted registration - show details 3 credits2UT. Avermaete
AbstractStudents interested in this course are required to enroll via mystudies.ethz.ch and apply via e-mail at the chair until end of the first week of the semester. Students are asked to indicate the theme of the design and the chair they are working with. The work is handed in at the same time as the design.
ObjectiveAn urban history case study with a clear topic and a clear formulation of a question. The findings and the discoveries shall be part of the base of the design.
ContentThe integrated study performance is attached to the design, but in urban planning discipline it must be a clearly recognizable independent achievement, which is to be provided in the form of a written and / or creative work. Choice of topic, form and extent of the work must be done in close consultation with the chair.
Lecture notesThere is no reader.
LiteratureSuggestions will be given at the discussions.
Prerequisites / NoticeRegistration to the professorship until the end of the first semester week, stating the design topic and the supervising chair.
052-0551-19LSummer School: Visualizing the Architecture Competition as “Contact Zone” (Prof.T.Avermaete) Information Restricted registration - show details
Motivation (200-words) and a 2-page CV (incl. language skills) are requested. Please send to Link until 15th July 2019, 24:00 h, at the very latest.
Enrolments on agreement with the lecturer only!
2 credits4ST. Avermaete, C. Nuijsink
AbstractThis summer school investigates the 'contact zone' as a new methodological tool to better understand the global-ness of architecture production. Students will be invited to theorize the
'contact zone' using the architecture competition as a case study. In collaboration with gta Exhibitions, different exhibition concepts will be developed that visualize the contact zone to its full potential.
ObjectiveDuring this summer school, each student will be asked to critically asses one edition of the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition (1965- present), an international housing ideas competition originating in Japan. They will be invited to explore the multiple actors and stakeholders (sponsor, judges, architects, media, public) involved in that edition of the competition, as well as trace the travelling of the competition theme across different architecture cultures. The research thus entails not just those who entered the competition, but also includes how those entries betrayed different cultural viewpoints and how these discrepancies in viewpoints on a certain theme subsequently influenced other entrants and cultures. Specialized staff of the ETH BAU-library will organize two workshops to help students get started with their research activities. During the course, they will also offer further assistance in gathering materials from various architectural sources that can help to demonstrate the effects and aftereffects of their selected competition edition.

In addition to theorizing the notion of contact zone for the field of architecture, students will also be challenged to visualize the contact zone. In collaboration with gta Exhibitions, each student will develop an exhibition concept that clearly expresses how the architecture competition functions as an open arena for debate between different architecture cultures. By foregrounding the multiple contacts taking place in this kind of cross-cultural encounter, and how these encounters produced new architectural knowledge, their exhibition concept should directly contribute to a more intertwined explanation of architecture history. As such, this exercise will provide students a better understanding of the consequences of the increasing exchange of architectural knowledge across geographical borders on the thinking and practice of architects, and their contribution to the making of ‘global architecture’.

Learning Objectives:

Theory sessions (mornings)
- Create awareness of the growing importance of cultural exchanges in contemporary society and develop a better understanding of how this has influenced (and can influence) the thinking and practice of architects;
- Sharpen students’ ability to think critically about the interaction between architecture and globalization
- Offer them an insight into the shortcomings of current modes of history writing
- Explore the methodological framework of “contact zones”
- Acquire new perspectives on the study of architecture competitions

Practical sessions (afternoons)
- Learn to analyze a theoretical model
- Acquire skills to visualize a theoretical model
- Expand research skills through targeted workshops organized by dedicated staff from ETH-BAU library
- Explore different visualization techniques and exhibition concepts in collaboration with gta Exhibitions
ContentThe goal of this summer school is to explore a new conceptual and methodological approach in the writing of global histories using the using the notion of “contact zones”. Appropriating the term from literature scholar Mary Louise Pratt who, in the context of colonial studies, defined contact zones as ‘social spaces where cultures meet, clash and grapple with each other, often in highly asymmetrical ways,’ students will analyze how intense cross-cultural encounters with architecture culture produced friction as much as ‘exhilarating moments of wonder, revelation, mutual understanding and new wisdom,’ in Pratt’s words. We will start by examining the different meanings of the contact zone that has been attributed to the concept through an analysis of those disciplines within which the term was first used. Next, we will question the potential of this concept for the field of architecture. Collectively, we will define different kinds architectural contact zones (competitions, exhibitions, biennales, emergency aid programs) and review a limited set of historical examples to better understand how they have affected the production of architecture knowledge. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the different mechanisms that are at play within a particular contact zone, by posing questions such as: What makes an architectural contact zone possible? How does it come into being? Who has access to it, and doesn’t? What power relations are at stake within a contact zone? In what way are common interests communicated and negotiated and, in that way, produced new architectural knowledge?

To offer students hands-on experience during this summer school, this theoretical model will be tested through the contact zone of the architecture competition. Our case study is the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition, an international housing ideas competition that originated in Japan in 1965 and has since been running on a yearly basis. What sets this competition apart from other idea competitions is that it operates with a single judge-system Besides responsible for setting the competition theme, the judge has the autonomy to choose independently who are named winners. Notable architects who have served as judges for the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition include Kenzo Tange, Arata Isozaki, Richard Meier, Peter Cook, Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaas, Jacques Herzog, Kazuyo Sejima, among others. In all 44 editions of the competition that have taken place so far, the judge has always generously reflected on the competition results, thus making this competition an emblematic example of a collective production of knowledge.
Lecture notesThis summer school will take place at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg campus and runs from September 4-10, 2019.

For one full week, students will use the gta Exhibitions space as their studio space to explore different visualization techniques in a very hands-on manner. Mornings are reserved for theoretical inquiry: in-class readings of literature, collective mind-mapping exercises and group discussions. Afternoon sessions are workshop-style; students will gather research materials in the library, develop their conceptual model and creatively use the exhibition space to visualize, in their own way, the architectural contact zone of the competition.

Assessment will be based on the innovative aspect of their visualization concept crafted during the week, as well as the representational qualities of their final exhibition in the exhibition space of gta Exhibitions. Particularly attention will be given to the excellence of the presentations to depict an intertwined history of architecture: showing not only the competitions results in an innovative way, but also visualizing how the competition (theme) resonated across multiple architecture cultures before, during and after the competition.

Students are strongly encouraged to experiment with a visualization technique of their own choice (e.g. collage, diagrams, photography, movie).

Course Assessment:
Conceptual Exhibition Model 20%
Active Class Participation 20%
Final Exhibition 60%

Final Exhibition and Discussion: Tuesday September 10, 2019
LiteratureEsra Akcan. “Writing a Global History through Translation: An Afterword on Pedagogical Perspectives”, Art in Translation, Vol. 10 Issue 1, 2018.

James Clifford. “Chapter 7: Museums as Contact Zones”; in Clifford, James. Routes: Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1997.

Jean-Louis Cohen. “Internationalization, its Networks and Spectacles”. The Future of Architecture Since 1889: A Worldwide History. London/New York: Phaidon, 2012.

Elizabeth Kath. ”On Transculturation: Reenacting and remaking Latin American dance and music in foreign lands” in Julian CH Lee (ed.) Narratives of Globalization: Reflections on the Global Condition. London: Rowman and Littlefield International, 2016.

Mary Louise Pratt. “Introduction: Criticism in the Contact Zone”. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. Abingdon: Routledge, 1992.

Mary Louise Pratt. “Arts of the Contact Zone”, Profession 91, 1991.

Steven V. Ward. “Planning Diffusion: Agents, Mechanisms, Networks, and Theories”. In Hein, Carola (ed). The Routledge Handbook of Planning History. New York: Routledge, 2017.
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents interested in the course have to send a 200-word motivation and a 2-page CV (incl. language skills) to cathelijne.nuijsink@gta.arch.ethz.ch until 15th July 2019, 24:00 h, at the very latest.
Enrolments on agreement with the lecturer only!

This intensive 7-day summer school is open to both students of ETH Zürich and international students (maximum 15 students) and will be entirely taught in English.

The target group is upper-level Bachelor's and Master's students with a strong interest in 'research by design'. Students are expected to participate in all research exercises, workshops and group discussions, and play a proactive role in the visualization of the theoretical concept offered.

The costs for this summer school are 100 CHF (will be invoiced by the chair). Accommodation (if needed), meals and travel expenses are not included.
052-0801-00LGlobal History of Urban Design I Information 2 credits2GT. Avermaete
AbstractThis course focuses on the history of the city, as well as on the ideas, processes and actors that engender and lead their developments and transformations. The history of urban design will be approached as a cross-cultural field of knowledge that integrates scientific, economic and technical innovation as well as social and cultural advance.
ObjectiveThe lectures deal mainly with the definition of urban design as an independent discipline, which maintains connections with other disciplines (politics, sociology, geography) that are concerned with the transformation of the city. The aim is to make students conversant with the multiple theories, concepts and approaches of urban design as they were articulated throughout time in a variety of cultural contexts, thus offering a theoretical framework for students' future design work.
ContentIn the first semester the genesis of the objects of study, the city, urban culture and urban design, are introduced and situated within their intellectual, cultural and political contexts:

01. The History and Theory of the City as Project
02. Of Rituals, Water and Mud: The Urban Revolution in Mesopotamia and the Indus
03: The Idea of the Polis: Rome, Greece and Beyond
04: The Long Middle Ages and their Counterparts: From the Towns of Tuscany to Delhi
05: Between Ideal and Laboratory: Of Middle Eastern Grids and European Renaissance Principles
06: Of Absolutism and Enlightenment: Baroque, Defense and Colonization
07: The City of Labor: Company Towns as Cross-Cultural Phenomenon
09: Garden Cities of Tomorrow: From the Global North to the Global South and Back Again
010: Civilized Wilderness and City Beautiful: The Park Movement of Olmsted and The Urban Plans of Burnham
011: The Extension of the European City: From the Viennese Ringstrasse to Amsterdam Zuid
Lecture notesPrior to each lecture a chapter of the reader (Skript) will be made available through the webpage of the Chair. These chapters will provide an introduction to the lecture, the basic visual references of each lecture, key dates and events, as well as references to the compulsory and additional reading.
LiteratureThere are three books that will function as main reference literature throughout the course:

-Ching, Francis D. K, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. Hoboken: Wiley, 2017.
-Ingersoll, Richard. World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
-James-Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014.

These books will be reserved for consultation in the ETH Baubibliothek, and will not be available for individual loans.

A list of further recommended literature will be found within each chapter of the reader (Skript).
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents are required to familiarize themselves with the conventions of architectural drawing (reading and analyzing plans at various scales).
052-0803-00LHistory and Theory of Architecture I Information 2 credits2V + 2UM. Delbeke, T. Avermaete, P. Ursprung, E. Weizman
AbstractIntroduction and overview of the history and theory of architecture from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke)
Introduction in the methods and instruments of the history of art and architecture. (Prof. Dr. M. Delbeke, Prof. Dr. L. Stalder, Prof. Dr. P. Unsprung, Prof. Dr. T. Avermaete)
ObjectiveAcquiring basic knowledge of the history of architecture and architectural theory, resp. of the methods and instruments of research into architecture.
Being able to identify the main architectural issues and debates of the period and geography covered in the course.
Acquiring the attitudes and tools to develop a historically informed reading of the built environment.
Acquiring the tools to be able to draw on historical, theoretical and critical research to nourish one's architectural culture.
ContentThe course History and Theory of Architecture I offers a chronological and thematic overview of the architecture and architectural theory produced in Europe from the 15th up to 19th century. Thematic lectures about key questions at play during the period will be combined with the in-depth analysis of historical buildings.
Themes will cover the emergence and development of Vitruvian design theory and practice up to the 19th century, and related issues such as the emergence of the architect; the media of architectural design and practice (drawings, models, building materials); patterns and media of dissemination and influence (micro-architecture, imagery); building types (the palazzo and the villa); questions of beauty and ornament; questions of patronage (e.g. the Roman papacy); the relation of buildings to the city (e.g. the development of European capitals); attitudes towards history (origin myths, historicism); the question of the monument.

The course Fundamentals of the History and Theory of Architecture I consists of different parts, each dealing with a particular area of research into the history of art and architecture
(1) The historiography of architecture (M. Delbeke)
(2) Architectural media (L. Stalder).
(3) Architecture and art (P. Ursprung)
(4) Urbanism and the Commons (T. Avermaete)
LiteratureLiterature and handouts will be provided over the course of the term.
Prerequisites / NoticeFor the course History and Theory of Architecture I students will rely on assisted self study to acquire basic knowledge of the canonical history of architecture in Europe.
063-0171-19LHistory, Criticism and Theory of Architecture (Thesis Elective) Information Restricted registration - show details 6 credits13AT. Avermaete
AbstractWithin three elective courses the students need to fulfill an elective work (seminar work). Elective works serve the independent way of dealing with the contents of the according elective course.
ObjectiveThe goal is to develop a framework of questions within the field of the history and theory of architecture as well as cultural history and to discuss it in a text that will form a scientific thesis. Personal viewpoints and arguments should be based on historical and theoretical sources and literature, and should be presented with reference to the source.
ContentThe contents of these elective studies are expected to link to the subject matter of the attended course.
063-0367-19LHistory of Urban Design (Thesis Elective) Information Restricted registration - show details 6 credits13AT. Avermaete
AbstractWithin three elective courses the students need to fulfill an elective work (seminar work). Elective works serve the independent way of dealing with the contents of the according elective course.
ObjectiveAim of this seminar work is to learn how to write a small thesis on a case study. This work should include a creative text, but also to obey certain rules, which turn a regular text into a scientific one.
ContentThe contents of these elective studies are expected to link to the subject matter of the attended course.
Prerequisites / NoticeRegistration for the elective subject must be preceded by a conversation with one of the assistants of the chair. It is therefore advisable to contact one of the care assistants before registering.
063-0803-01LHistory and Theory in Architecture IX (Avermaete) Information 1 credit1VT. Avermaete
AbstractThis survey course offers an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development.
ObjectiveMore than half of the global population lives in cities. Within the next few decades, this proportion is expected to increase to two-thirds. Contested by a wide range of interests , urban development concerns politicians, economists, anthropologists, philosophers, citizens and activists, developers and designers. In turn, the urban realm has provoked theorists, citizens, politicians, artists and designers to think and write about its form and functioning, appearance and structure. The discourse regarding the current growth of cities has a long pedigree in history, going back to the establishment of Greek and Roman city-states. In turn, urban planners have made valuable contributions to these discussions, in writings and in actual urban design projects and proposals.
This survey course aims to offer an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development. By investigating a range of topics, from politics to poverty, and from modernization to commodification, it aims to show how urban and architectural design are related to theory. Through its historical overview of discourses on cities and its assets, it challenges students to reflect upon their own position regarding architectural interventions in the urban fabric.

This course aims to offer a survey of the history and current state of urban theory for students of urban design and architecture. Weekly, one-hour lectures address one particular topic at a time (e.g. politics, public space, capital). In each lecture, this theme is investigated through three case-studies (either of particular cities or seminal contributions by theorists or designers) that highlight crucial moments in the history and developments of cities. At the same time, the case studies will be structured so as to bridge between urban theories and concrete urban situations, design reflections and political ambitions. This will help convey to students the historical pedigree of current discourses on cities, whether simultaneously gain insight the role of designers in respect to the chosen topic. Students will prepare the meetings by reading fragments from core texts on the forehand.
ContentLecture 01 - Introduction
Lecture 02 - Politcs
Lecture 03 - Public Space
Lecture 04 - Contextualism
Lecture 05 - Capital
Lecture 06 - Commodification
Lecture 07 - Poverty
Lecture 08 - Modernization
Lecture 09 - Historicism
Lecture 10 - Identity
LiteratureFor this course, each week students will read fragments from key readings on the topics addressed. These readings will be made available via the website of the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course will be taught in English
063-0803-03LHistory and Theory in Architecture IX (Avermaete) Information 1 credit1VT. Avermaete
AbstractThis survey course offers an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development.
ObjectiveMore than half of the global population lives in cities. Within the next few decades, this proportion is expected to increase to two-thirds. Contested by a wide range of interests , urban development concerns politicians, economists, anthropologists, philosophers, citizens and activists, developers and designers. In turn, the urban realm has provoked theorists, citizens, politicians, artists and designers to think and write about its form and functioning, appearance and structure. The discourse regarding the current growth of cities has a long pedigree in history, going back to the establishment of Greek and Roman city-states. In turn, urban planners have made valuable contributions to these discussions, in writings and in actual urban design projects and proposals.
This survey course aims to offer an introduction to urban theory for students of architecture and urban design, by exploring the past and current discourses on cities and urban development. By investigating a range of topics, from politics to poverty, and from modernization to commodification, it aims to show how urban and architectural design are related to theory. Through its historical overview of discourses on cities and its assets, it challenges students to reflect upon their own position regarding architectural interventions in the urban fabric.

This course aims to offer a survey of the history and current state of urban theory for students of urban design and architecture. Weekly, one-hour lectures address one particular topic at a time (e.g. politics, public space, capital). In each lecture, this theme is investigated through three case-studies (either of particular cities or seminal contributions by theorists or designers) that highlight crucial moments in the history and developments of cities. At the same time, the case studies will be structured so as to bridge between urban theories and concrete urban situations, design reflections and political ambitions. This will help convey to students the historical pedigree of current discourses on cities, whether simultaneously gain insight the role of designers in respect to the chosen topic. Students will prepare the meetings by reading fragments from core texts on the forehand.
ContentLecture 01 - Introduction
Lecture 02 - Politcs
Lecture 03 - Public Space
Lecture 04 - Contextualism
Lecture 05 - Capital
Lecture 06 - Commodification
Lecture 07 - Poverty
Lecture 08 - Modernization
Lecture 09 - Historicism
Lecture 10 - Identity
LiteratureFor this course, each week students will read fragments from key readings on the topics addressed. These readings will be made available via the website of the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course will be taught in English
064-0005-19LDoctoral Seminar: Advanced Topics in History and Theory of Architecture Information
Only for Architecture doctoral program.
3 credits1KE. Weizman, T. Avermaete, M. Delbeke, P. Ursprung
AbstractAdvanced Research Methods in the History and Theory of Art and Architecture
ObjectiveAcquiring insight in the different possible research methods available to PhD-researchers in the fields of the history and theory of art and architecture.
ContentOn the transmission routes of meaning, languages are the most powerful vehicles. Translations are their «gearing mechanism». They enable the movement of ideas across time and space. Literally meaning «carried over», translation is an integral part of every act of communication, be it among individuals, among cultures, among humans and nonhumans. The translation from one language into another involves processes of decoding and re-encoding, during which meaning may be lost, preserved, or newly interpreted.
The seminar will address different aspects of translation in theory and practice.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe seminar addresses the fellows of the Doctoral Program in History and Theory of Architecture. All other doctoral students of the Faculty of Architecture are welcome.