Building Communities is a studio led by Eva Prats for the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 academic years at ETH Zürich.
Visiting Professor: Eva Prats
Advisor: Ricardo Flores
Teaching Assistants: Annina Meier & Guillaume Guisan
Details and gallery:
> Autumn semester 2019 (HS19)
> Spring semester 2020 (FS20)
> Autumn semester 2020 (HS20)
> Spring semester 2021 (FS21)
Studio Manifesto:
In a situation of global crisis, collective housing can help to give stability and to restore the confidence that seems to have been lost in many layers of current society. Trust in neighbours, in counting on them, generating a community in which one can feel accompanied and can be supported at any time; it is a necessity that architecture can collaborate to solve decisively. Collaborate in reversing isolation and individuality tendencies, promoting communication, to meet and interact, the physical contact and communication between neighbours.
We care about the inclusive character of social housing, with its ability to incorporate sectors of the society at risk of exclusion, not only on an economic level but also on a cultural one. Collective housing can function as a first social circle within the larger structure of society and the city. That is why the multidisciplinary formation of the architect is essential to understand the social impact implicit in the housing design.
We believe that research and innovation about new ways of living have to be produced in the social housing field. The housing promoted and subsidized by public entities is, by definition, the place where society has to see not only typological proposals but also about groups and social organizations. It is here where the investigation has to take place and where to work on how to incorporate new ways of living that are already present in the society, but which are not present in the University programs. The studio proposes to connect the research capacity of the University with the latent realities of living in the society, from a specific line of work in this field.
> For further details and progress see the Studio Eva Prats website (external link)
> See contribution by Eva Prats, and students of the studio for the publication SEVEN QUESTIONS, ETH Studio Jan De Vylder universum carrousel journey.
> See book documenting the studio, Building Communities, Rehabilitation and Housing in Barcelona and Zurich, 2024