Christophe Girot: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2020

Award: The Golden Owl
Name Prof. em. Christophe Girot
FieldLandscape Architecture
Address
Landschaftsarchitektur, Girot
ETH Zürich, HIL H 56.1
Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5
8093 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 633 37 71
E-mailgirot@arch.ethz.ch
DepartmentArchitecture
RelationshipProfessor emeritus

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
051-0162-00LLandscape Architecture II Information
Only for Architecture BSc, Programme Regulations 2011.
1 credit2VC. Girot
AbstractThe lecture series gives an introduction to the field of contemporary landscape architecture. The course
provides a perspective on forthcoming landscape architecture in terms of the aspects site, soil, water and
vegetation.
ObjectiveOverview to contemporary and forthcoming tasks of landscape architecture. A critical reflection of the
present design practice and discussion of new approaches in landscape architecture.
ContentThe lecture series "Theory and Design in Contemporary Landscape Architecture" (Landscape Architecure
II) follows the lecture series "History and Theory of Garden Design and Landscape Architecture"
(Landscape Architecure I). Rather than concentrating only on questions of style, the series will also tackle
issues such as revitalisation, sustainability etc. The lectures review design approaches that critically
reflect our inherited perception of nature. The themes of site, soil, water and vegetation provide some
useful aspects for the design practice.
Lecture notesNo script. Handouts and learning material will be provided.
LiteratureA reading list will be provided for the exams.
Prerequisites / NoticeGeneral Information for the final exam:

Bachelor students: The content of the lectures as well as texts and exam-relevant literature provided by the Chair make up the basis for preparing for the exam. The lecture series is conceived as a yearlong course. Since the written session examination tests knowledge from both semesters. It is necessary to attend the lectures throughout the course of the year.
The test themes will be announced at the end of the semester. The Chair will provide literature and texts available for download as pdfs. These allow a more in-depth understanding of the lecture material.

Transfer students or students of other departments: Students attending one semester may opt to take only the oral end-of-semester examination. Test-relevant literature will also be made available for download for this purpose. The students are requested to get in touch by email with the Chair.
051-1238-20LIntegrated Discipline Landscape Architecture Information Restricted registration - show details 3 credits2UC. Girot
AbstractDesign concepts ranging from architectural objects to urban planning are developed together with the discipline of landscape architecture. Dependent on the task at hand different themes are investigated. The goal of the integrated discipline is to develop design solutions of a specific topic in landscape architecture, which have to be incorporated into the overall design submission.
ObjectiveStudents gain an insight into the integrated disciplins of design in architecture together with landscape architecture.
Prerequisites / NoticeIn order to complete the subject Integrated Discipline it is necessary that students apply at the Chair of C. Girot within the first three weeks of the semester. Thereafter no applications will be processed.

Further information and required qualifications: www.girot.arch.ethz.ch
052-0706-00LLandscape Architecture II Information 2 credits2VC. Girot
Abstract
Objective
052-0714-20LSerendipity: Carved Landscapes Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 16.
2 credits2GC. Girot
AbstractThe students investigate todays systems of mining and it's impact on the contemporary alpine landscape. Through acoustic and visual measurements on site the students find different ways of representing landscape.
ObjectiveThrough the use of multimedia tools, this course will reflect on the contemporary use and perception of landscape.
ContentAttention: The final inscription will take place on the first course date, everybody is treated the same.

The alpine landscape has become a hinterland of its adjacent urban centers. Stone among other resources is extracted from the mountainous terrains and channeled into the thriving cities of central Europe. Ever since local villages were built local stone was used as a building material and was carved from endless quarries, reshaping the landscape. Cities depend on their hinterland for supply of all sorts, like recreational tourism, water sources and hydropower plants, agricultural production or construction material, the landscape in return is being reshaped by these distant interests with increasing speed.

After investigating the systems of water-collection and the allocated power production during previous semesters, we will now be shifting our focus on the extraction of stone and rock – the dismantling of the mountains themselves. The mining of rock and stone formations which have been formed over millions of years – undergoing geological transformations of unimaginable scale.
With a group of students we will investigate a gneiss quarry in Cevio, located in the famous Val Maggia. Amongst many other quarries in the valley, in this particular one locals have been mining stone as a construction material for centuries. This has not only influenced the local architecture, which became famous for its stone-cladded roofs – only possible due to the specific properties of the local stone – but also made the valley famous far beyond its borders. In the 1920’ies Zurich's Train-station Enge was built using the rock from this quarry in Cevio. Thirty years later the square in front of the station was named «Tessinerplatz» the canton where Cevio is located, making the urban ensemble an homage to the origins of its building material.
The process of building is always also a process of mining – elsewhere. Every built volume requires a negative space. In this void and it’s surrounding landscape we will search for gaps, joints, resistance, reflections and connections between landscape and the mining structure, production and protection, absorption and reflection. We want to understand the spatial characteristics drawn by light and sound and create a new perception of this place. What spatial qualities can we find in this remaining carved landscape? And how can we present these discoveries in an audiovisual work?
We will approach the place with sound recorders and analogue medium format cameras. Spending time on site will give us the possibility to emerge into the system of power and observe it in different scales. Back on campus Students will work on an audio visual composition, created in the AV-Lab and the PhotoLab.


Notes: The course will be limited to 16 students. Participation on all dates of the course (Introduction, Workshop, Mid- and Final Presentations) is mandatory. The Chair will provide some financial support (costs for production), additional costs (transportation, overnight stay, food and drinks) are asked to be paid by the participants. Basic trekking experience and outdoor clothing is required.
Prerequisites / NoticeCourse language: English or German (number of participants is limited!)

20.2.2020 Introduction & final inscription – before the participation can't be guaranteed

29th Feb/1st Mar 2020 Weekend workshop, all day, outside ETH (mandatory)
Costs per student (for travel and accommodation): 150.-
052-0716-20LTopology: "Draw a Map to Get Lost" Information Restricted registration - show details 2 credits2KC. Girot
AbstractIn this elective, we aim to question cartographic representations by creating a map that challenges our sense of orientation.
ObjectiveIn this elective, we aim to question cartographic representations by creating a map that challenges our sense of orientation.
ContentWe follow Yoko Ono's contradictory instructions and explore the tension between orientation and disorientation in the map. Since the medieval itineraries of pilgrims, we have been using cartographic orientation tools. Even today, we rely on the fact that maps depict realities, while at the same time, we are wandering as blue dots in the labyrinth of Google Maps. What does a map show? And what does it hide? What claim to truth does it formulate? In this elective, we will explore these questions and deepen our knowledge with a selection of texts on the history, meaning, and purpose of cartographic representations. Ultimately, the students themselves become cartographers: they will survey the territory according to their own rules and create a map that challenges our sense of orientation.
LiteratureReader
Prerequisites / NoticeCourse languages: German; (English and French if desired)

Introduction: 21 February 2020, 1 pm.
052-1128-20LArchitectural Design V-IX: Seeland Rivages: New Flood Infrastructures for the Jura Lake Region Restricted registration - show details
Teaching languages are English and German.

Please register (Link) only after the internal enrolment for the design classes (see Link).

Project grading at semester end is based on the list of enrolments on 3.4.20, 24:00 h (valuation date) only.
Ultimate deadline to unsubscribe or enroll for the studio is 3.4.20, 24:00 h.
14 credits16UC. Girot
AbstractThe Landscape Architecture Studio of Prof. Christophe Girot will design a new landscape project along a stretch of the Zihlkanal that will enable a novel solution to mitigating flooding problems and improving local living conditions.
ObjectiveWe will work on the “Seeland,” a region formed by three lakes at the foothill of the Jura Mountains, once was a floodplain of the Aare River. In the largest water infrastructure project ever attempted in Switzerland, the wetlands were drained and turned into one of the country’s most important farming regions. Recently, however, increased glacial melt and heavier rain events have strained the system, posing an urgent question: When water levels across the Seeland rise, where should the excess flow?

The FS 2020 Design Studio will focus on the large scales design through digital point cloud modeling. During the semester, students will learn skills in point cloud, computer modeling, visualisation techniques, and CNC prototyping in several workshops. The Design Studio is organising a two-day workshop field trip to the site (22-23.02.2020 costs 180CHF).

The goal of the studio is to develop a landscape design along a stretch of the Zihlkanal which mitigates local flooding problems and enhances the water accumulation structures currently existing in the Seeland. The design work will follow a three-scaled approach: network (large scale), structure (medium scale) and detail (small scale).
ContentThe studio is structured into three phases and includes a site visit:

PHASE I: DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND HYPOTHESIS & SITE VISIT
In the first part of the semester, the students choose a site-specific strategy for developing a new landscape intervention along a stretch of the Zihlkanal that will enable a novel solution for mitigating flooding problems and contributing to the water accumulation infrastructure of the Seeland.
During the first week, the students attend a weekend site visit during which they will have the opportunity to get a better understanding of the site.
In a next step, the students create a programme, i.e. they propose concrete measures and design interventions which will allow them to implement their strategy.
A studio exercise and guest lectures help the students with developing their strategies and programme. Furthermore, they are introduced to key tools such as 3D scanning and learn to use point clouds to generate topographies for 3D modeling.

PHASE II: DESIGN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MODELING AND ITERATION
In the second part of the semester, students will test their topographic interventions through modeling and CNC-milling, and adding a vegetation layer to the designs.

PHASE III: PROJECT SYNTHESIS AND VISUALISATION
In the third part of the semester, the students focus on the production and visualisation of their designs. The primary tools for this phase are Rhino and Point Cloud modeling.
Lecture notesBooklet and reader will be provided at the introduction. For further information see: girot.arch.ethz.ch
LiteratureA reader will be provided at the introduction. Furthermore, a semester apparat will be available to the students at the ILA Library.
Prerequisites / Notice- Introduction: Tuesday 18.02.2020, HIL Foyer H 40.9, 10:00h
- The studio includes a compulsory site visit 22-23.02.2020 estimated costs 180CHF
- Number of participants is limited to 18 students
- The studio space is ETH Hönggerberg HIL C40.1
- The design will be developed in groups of two, with individual assignments.
- Language of instruction is English; Assistance in English or German
-The studio includes "Integrierte Disziplin Planung (Ch.Girot)", 3 ETCS credits
063-0626-20LSerendipity (Thesis Elective) Information Restricted registration - show details 6 credits13AC. Girot
AbstractThe thesis elective involves the creative refinement and testing of the theses on the perception and design of landscape developed during the semester in the elective course Serendipity.
ObjectiveThe thesis elective Serendipity offers students the opportunity to develop an intervention concept based on the use of multimedia tools, and thus to explore the possibilities of shaping perceptual qualities.
ContentPlease find more information concerning the respective semester topic and the course schedule on our website:
http://girot.arch.ethz.ch/landscape-education/bachelor-master/current-courses
Prerequisites / NoticeLimited admission due to technical equipment. For participants of the elective course Serendipity only.
063-0628-20LTopology (Thesis Elective) Information Restricted registration - show details 6 credits13AC. Girot
AbstractThe elective project serves to further explore the themes of the elective course Topology.
ObjectiveThe elective gives students the opportunity to expand their knowledge in the area of landscape architecture.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis elective is supervised by the TheoryLab in the spring semester and by the DesignLab in the autumn semester.
064-0018-20LResearch Methods in Landscape and Civic Design Information Restricted registration - show details 3 credits2KG. Vogt, C. Girot, H. Klumpner, F. Persyn, C. Schmid, M. Topalovic
AbstractAs part of the ‘Doctoral Program in Landscape and Urban Studies’, the ‘Research Methods in Landscape and Civic Design' seminar offers PhD students at the D-Arch an application-oriented introduction into the variety of methodologies and tools available to conduct research on the (built) environment at the urban and territorial scale.
ObjectiveThe seminar's objective is to introduce PhD students to the multitude of research methodologies, tools and techniques within the fields of urban studies, urban design, territorial planning and landscape architecture. Based on the conveyed knowledge, the seminar ultimately aims at enabling PhD candidates to critically assess existing methods and tools, and to refine and develop an academically sound research framework for their own studies.
ContentThe seminar is organized along three modules that are arranged according to the PhD classes' particular needs:

A: Methodology Module >>> Introduction of a research methodology by an expert / short contributions by PhD students + exercise and discussion / moderated by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent). This will include quantitative and qualitative methods such as ethnographic research, case study research, grounded theory, survey design, mapping, methods in statistical and data analysis, etc. (3-4 per semester)

B: Literature Module >>> Reading sessions organized and conducted by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent) / invited experts from the Department. These sessions will support the methodology modules with theoretical and historical texts with a specifically tailored reading syllabus. (4-5 per semester).

C: Techniques Module >>> Introduction into research techniques and tools / organized by doctoral program coordinator (Lecturer/Dozent) / conducted by respective experts. These modules will make students familiar with technical aspects such as academic writing, or the the use of GIS software, the ETH library or the gta archive, etc.(2-3 per semester)
Prerequisites / NoticeThe seminar is jointly organized by the coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Landscape and Urban Studies, and the I-LUS faculty. Although located at the D-Arch, the seminar is open to all doctoral students at ETH who are involved or interested in research at the urban and territorial scale.