NRP 81 Seminar Series 2025/26 Baukultur: A European Genealogy Session II

The concept of Baukultur has firmly taken its place in the European debate on architecture, cities and landscapes (Davos Declaration, 2018). Due to its topicality, the term is widely accepted and taken for granted, without questioning the significance of the preceding experiences it encompasses. From November 2025 to January 2026, the Steering Committee of the National Research Programme “Baukultur” including Paola Viganò (President and Professor at EPFL and IUAV), Pierre Caye (member of the Committee and research director at the CNRS) and Andri Gerber (member of the Steering Committee and Professor at ZHAW) organises a series of sessions, to outline the European genealogy of Baukultur.

Rather than searching for the origins of Baukultur, these sessions invite guest speakers, NRP 81 project teams, researchers, and students to explore the numerous ramifications that contribute to understanding its construction and emergence.

The second session explores the reciprocal influences between landscape culture and Baukultur over time and across space, in the form of two short presentations followed by a discussion. Through the contributions of Jean-Marc Besse and Michael Jakob, it seeks to identify the shared paths that lead from cultural values to the establishment of a normative culture of the built environment.

The presentations will be held in English – in presence and online. Please subscribe for the live stream here:

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