All photos and videos on this page are by Yuri Schmid.

In spring 2025, within the Focus Work of the Chair of Architectural Behaviorology, eight architecture students, Anastasia Lupo, Delia Matthys, Matteo Wolfart, Nadina Häni, Nadine Jakob, Nora Reis, Rosina Maibach, designed, built, and installed a climate kitchen in collaboration with pupils and teachers of the secondary school Frick, Aargau.

The climate kitchen was developed in response to a community workshop organised by Reallabor Jurapark Aargau, where various stakeholders and local actors came together to formulate actions for the challenges raised by climate change. The result was a guiding framework titled “Future green spaces, that invite to linger” with to goal to create climate adapted public rural spaces.

The design and building process was structured in two workshops and final discussion and reflection within the chair.

In the first workshop the architecture students prepared drawings and a model to present their first design proposal. As a drawing exercise the pupils and the students drew over an axonometric print of the design. Discussing advantages and disadvantages of the current form by presenting their drawings the pupils contributed to the design process.

During the second workshop the architecture students led a construction workshop. The students had pre-cut the structural timber components, to instruct the assembly more easily. The arts and crafts teacher had prepared plywood boards with his pupils that would cover the sides of the frame. The pupils had made food themed paintings on them.

Split in four groups the architecture students collaborated with the pupils in hands-on construction using drilling machines, measurement tools, painting and sawing tools to assemble the “Climate Kitchen”

The built object was presented to the local community during an event organised by the Reallabor Jurapark.

As part of the Focus Work project “Climate Kitchen,” conventional kitchens, the act of cooking, and social gathering are being rethought. The result is a prototype for a kitchen that draws attention to these fundamental topics while raising awareness about sustainability.

In collaboration with students from the Frick School and the Jurapark Aargau Real-World Laboratory, a kitchen is being developed to highlight the benefits of sustainable cooking, mobility, health, and community. At the same time, the kitchen will serve as a gathering place on the school grounds in Frick and bring attention to the issue of climate change.

The Frick School is located on the southern edge of the municipality of Frick, which is part of the Jurapark Regional Nature Park. The kitchen aims to enhance the understanding of climate change as well as the importance of the Jurapark—both in Frick and at other schools within the park. The latter is highlighted through incorporating the traditions and customs of the Jurapark, particularly in the choice of cooking methods.

The designed kitchen consists of a basic framework with three triangular wooden structures that contain all the components for washing, preparing, cooking, and storing. The entire kitchen is mounted on casters, keeping it mobile and easy to move around. A water trough allows for the collection of rainwater, which can be used for washing fruit and cooking utensils, or as cooking water.

In a last step the architecture students reflected and analysed the prototype by hand drawn research reports.