With the expansion of Swiss cities and the shortage of resources, urgent targeted, transdisciplinary planning of urban qualities is needed. How can we develop cities which are lively and pleasant to live in and which do not over-exploit resources?
Background
The creation and preservation of urban value and a simultaneous reduction in environmental pollution should be assured for the next 40 years. At the same time, recreation sites, places of work and education and health facilities are to be located in direct proximity to places of residence. Buildings should not only be energy-efficient, but they must also be even better places to live within the city for people and animals alike.
Aim
This project examines by way of example how Swiss cities should be planned in a sustainable manner in the next 40 years. In doing so, the interactions between social, ecological and economic aspects are being researched and harmonised. Because of architectural and urban development scenarios, the project combines methods from interdisciplinary fields of research with one another. Using models from specialist planners – for example regarding transport, the property market, well being and the environment – the performance of the scenarios is being determined in the Limmat valley. Institutions and teams of architects are being drawn into the research using workshops. The solutions which result are continuously being improved and, if possible, being generalised so that the knowledge gained can identify strategies for the sustainable planning of Swiss cities.
Significance
The purpose of the project is to improve knowledge about the various social, ecological and economic interactions necessary for urban planning. The results provide an important template for sustainable urban planning and the methods compiled will help experts and lay people to define sustainable strategies in joint workshops. Furthermore, environmentally, socially and economically relevant risks are to be highlighted at an early stage in the urban development process and are to provide answers to questions regarding the intensive redevelopment of Swiss cities, and these answers should simultaneously guarantee an improvement in urban qualities.
Original title: Sustainable Urban Patterns (SUPat)
Grant: CHF 699'730.-
Duration: 36 months
Project leaders
- Prof. Gerhard Schmitt, Professor of Information Architecture, ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)
- Prof. Michel Bierlaire, Transport and Mobility Laboratory (TRANSP-OR), ETH Lausanne
- Dipl. Ing. ETH Franz Eberhard, Zürich
- Dipl. Ing. ETH Piet Eckert, e2a Eckert Eckert Architekten, Zürich
- Prof. Angelus Eisinger, Perimeter Stadt, Zürich/HafenCity Universität Hamburg
- Prof. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, Institut für Raum- und Landschaftsentwicklung (Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning), ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)
- Prof. Mathias Müller, em2n, Mathias Müller Daniel Niggli Architekten AG, Zürich
- Dipl. Ing. ETH Silva Ruoss, Guagliardi Ruoss, Zürich
- Prof. Thomas F. Rutherford, Centre for Energy Policy and Economics (CEPE), ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)
- Markus Schaefer, MSc, Hosoya Schaefer Architects, Zürich
- Prof. Roland W. Scholz, Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED), ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)