Wood and the City ZHAW International Summer School
In the Summer School “Wood and the City” (Summer 2023), we explored practical and visionary ways of what it means to deal with the limitations of natural building materials. The goal was to develop ideas of planning and design that seamlessly integrate both: human settlement and natural resources. To ground the visions in its context, the Summer School focused on the post-industrial site of Attisholz in Switzerland.
The ambition of the week was to foster a symbiosis between the existence of trees and architecture, where one cannot define where nature ends, and architecture starts. We have visited the industrial area under transformation to directly experience its potential. Furthermore, an excursion to a sawmill and timber production firm gave us insights on the transformation of wood – from the forest to building elements.
Experts from different fields have served as reflection partners throughout the Summer School. The findings have resulted in scenarios elaborated through visualizations and presented at a final event with special guests. The Summary Report of the week can be seen and downloaded here.