Modulverantwortung: Peter Althaus
Lehrteam: Felix Wettstein, Didier Balissat, Joni Kaçani, Céline Bessire, Matthias Winter, Tina Küng, Steffen Hägele
Assistants: Qendrim Gashi

The thesis project offers students a flexible opportunity to tailor their final project according to their interests within the theme of „Ruins of the 21st Century.“ They have the option to choose from three different studio tasks. Each task provides specific thematic focuses and methodological approaches.

KosovoMuseum: from monuments to momentum
Prishtina, shaped by monumental architecture from the Yugoslav era, faces the challenge of many unused and neglected buildings from this period, which also limits the potential of surrounding public spaces. As a young state, Kosovo needs institutions that represent its cultural identity and aspirations, making a museum essential. The KosovoMuseum aims to reactivate these structures through strategic interventions, connecting them into a unified cultural entity and enhancing public spaces to promote sustainable urban development.

SPEKULATIONSARCHITEKTUR
‘Spekulationsarchitektur’ takes an optimistic view of Lucerne’s sub-centers, which are rapidly evolving under real estate speculation but lack overarching urban ambition. The focus is on uncovering extended values in these settlements beyond profit maximization. By reimagining and augmenting private-interest architecture, this semester speculates on the urban Grossform, transforming generic Ersatzneubauten into a catalyst for collective architectural exploration. Lucerne becomes a Micropolitan Archipelago.

Spaces of Negotiation: Culture
In democracies, public construction tasks are shaped through societal negotiation rather than decisions by a small group. Cost-benefit debates often lead to the failure of projects for cultural institutions—they become ruins vefore they are built—or result in significant changes. These changes are often involving „public-private partnerships“. This «merged-relationship» is expressed through typology and space. Using the „Salle Modulable“ and „Neues Luzerner Theater“ debates, students analyze the spatial phenomena and typologies of contested or unrealized projects.