Modulverantwortung: Torsten Lange
Lehrteam: Heike Biechteler, Torsten Lange, Guest Lecturers

Designed Conditions: Architecture in The Political Economy of Production — Land

Architecture and the production of the built environment more broadly are shaped by economic forces: land prices, labor markets, capital flows, and professional enterprise. Frequently rendered invisible, these forces profoundly impact what gets built, where, and for whom. Furthermore, these forces are typically understood as fixed constraints or external realities—unchangeable “givens” in the design process. This module challenges such naturalizations. Instead, it posits that these key factors of production are neither neutral nor inevitable, but designed conditions: socially and politically constructed, maintained, and contestable. Through critical investigation and speculation, the module equips students with tools to both understand and visualize how these dynamics operate—and to imagine alternative futures for architectural production.

The first semester turns to land as the initial site of inquiry. Land is never empty, merely waiting for development. Instead, it is a complex ground shaped by histories of ownership, ecological processes, material extraction, and regulatory regimes. What determines land value and development potential, thus shaping where construction occurs? How do ownership structures and legal designations guide land use? Which types of development do zoning laws promote or inhibit, and how? Can we trace the links between the ground and global supply chains of construction materials? And how might we engage with what already exists—buildings, soils, habitats—through strategies of reuse and adaptation rather than erasure? By engaging critically with these questions, students will analyze the production of land as a political and economic construct and propose alternative spatial narratives.