Chair of
Architectural Behaviorology

Last March as part of the Seminar Week, organized together with prof. Laurent Stalder (gta), we spent five days in the Val di Blenio.

Thanks to visits to the Museo Storico Etnografico in Lottigna, the Fondazione Archivio Donetta in Corzoneso, an archive of Roberto Donetta’s many photos that documented local life in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and finally the Cà da Rivöi Museum in Olivone, we had our first approach to the history, culture and local traditions of this valley.

Throughout the week we had the privilege of attending lectures and guided tours with different actors who come from different backgrounds and shared their expertise of the region with us.

Cristian Scapozza, a native of the Blenio Valley, is a geographer and professor of Geomorphology, together we visited the valley and he explained its geomorphological composition.

Together with Valentina Cima we visited the two historical museums and had an exhaustive introduction to the Valley.

In the evenings, on the other hand, we had the opportunity to have guest speakers such as Stefano Bolla historian and author of the book Cartografia di una valle alpina, Fernando Ferrari author of the book Verde Lapis, and Martino Pedrozzi local architect and professor at the Academy of Mendrisio who has been involved in several restorations in the area.

During the week, students divided into groups focused on different parts of the valley located at different altitudes along a section line. They visited the places and through personal observations and exchange with local people began to sketch the most relevant elements to understand the relationship between specific natural conditions and human settlements.

The combination of historical learning, lectures by specialists, exchanges with local people and the students’ personal observations made possible a complex and multi-level reading of the area.

Finally, all students together worked on the creation of a public drawing, one unique large collective drawing where each student contributed to one part. The result is a cross-section that runs entirely through the valley and captures the complex dynamics, connections and interdependencies specific to this alpine landscape.

 

Organization

Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture, GTA, D-ARCH, ETH Zürich. Prof. Laurent Stalder, Assistant: Conrad Kersting

Chair of Architectural Behaviorology, IEA, D-ARCH, ETH Zürich. Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, Assistant: Grégoire Farquet, Sofia Ferrari

 

ETH Students, research and drawings

Aymon Charlotte, Grütter Loris, Hasanaj Driton, Kamp Thalia, Kwon Hyuk Sung, Lu Di, Mu Ziyong, Schertenleib Marc, Schmid David, Schürch Lucie, Severini Marco, Takanami Kei, Varrin samuel, Züst Romina

 

Photo credits: Grégoire Farquet, Sofia Ferrari