Start of the first NRP 81 Seminar series
During winter 2025/26 we explore the roots of Baukultur in Europe.
The Steering Committee of the National Research Programme "Baukultur" (NRP 81) is pleased to present the programme's first Seminar series. The series serve to deepen particular Baukultur topics and contribute to the exchange of knowledge among the project teams, but also with the public.
In the first Seminar series, the different roots of the concept of "Baukultur" in Europe will be explored. Under the title "Baukultur - a European Genealogy", three members of the NRP 81 Steering Committee – Paola Viganò (President and Professor at EPFL and IUAV), Pierre Caye (Research Director at CNRS Jean Pépin) and Andri Gerber (Professor at ZHAW) – are organising a series of events between November 2025 and January 2026. This first cycle of public events, which can be attended both on site in Lausanne and Winterthur and online, is being organised in collaboration with the Habitat Research Center (HRC) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Winterthur.
The sessions invite guest speakers, NRP 81 project teams, researchers and students as well as all interested parties to explore the numerous ramifications that contribute to understanding the emergence and development of the concept of Baukultur. The sequence of the seminars aims to trace the successive or parallel paths that have led to the recognition of the common principles and values of Baukultur.
Program
Session I The European roots of Baukultur: An introduction
03.11.2025, 18:00 – 19:00
EPFL, Archizoom, SG Building – Station 15
Sarah Wigglesworth, London
Session II Cultural landscapes: landscape culture and the roots of Baukultur
24.11.2025, 18:00 – 19:00
EPFL, Archizoom, SG Building – Station 15
Jean-Marc Besse, Paris
Michael Jakob, Genève
Session III Baukultur and the critique of Modernity #1
09.11.2025, 18:00 – 19:00
EPFL, Archizoom, SG Building – Station 15
Jean-Louis Violeau, Nantes
Paolo Scrivano, Milano
Session IV Baukultur and the critique of Modernity #2
13.01.2026, 18:00 – 19:00
EPFL, Archizoom, SG Building – Station 15
Angelika Schnell, Wien
Irina Davidovici, Zürich
Session V Umbaukultur: the roots
13.01.2026, 18:00 – 19:00
ZHAW, MD E0.17, Tössfeldstrasse 11, Winterthur
Paul Landauer, Paris