STUDIO ETH Zürich
Spring 2025

Altstetten PlateausSvetlana Momcilovic and Cristina Terricabras

Instead of static solutions and in response to growing climate challenges and ecological pressures, our urban design proposes dynamic practices that connect people and nature. The project traces an agroecological path through four urban plateaus in Altstetten. Though fragmented, the plateaus have been preserved as the legacy of a productive landscape, which can now be interwoven with agroecological practices, biodiversity corridors, and a “breathing” forest edge. Through walking, we explore how these fragments can be connected into a coherent system that supports the lives of both humans and non-humans. Walking in this context is not only an act of movement but also a process that uncovers hidden layers of the landscape, activates sensory experiences and catalyses design responses.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the ETH academic staff (Milica Topalović, Nancy Couling, Alice Clarke and Jan Westerheide) and all the people we interviewed who generously shared their time and knowledge with us. Special thanks to Cornelia Staffelbach, Stefan Brunner, Seidel Torsten and Benjamin Frauenknecht.

Photographs and images by authors unless otherwise indicated.

The project texts were developed within the course „Critical Writing“, SS 2025, by Dr. Nancy Couling. The chapters above have been edited for consistency and accuracy by the MAS editorial team: Nancy Couling, Alice Clarke, Jan Westerheide and Thibault Marghem.

Sources

  • Careri, Francesco. "Walkscapes: Walking as an Aesthetic Practice." 2002.
  • City of Zurich, Stadtwald (City of Zürich), accessed April 27, 2025.
  • ETH Zürich. Studies on Urban Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Role of Pollinators. Zürich: ETH Zürich, 2024.
  • Forest Department of the Canton of Zürich. Forest in the Canton of Zürich. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.zh.ch/de.html
  • FriedWald Schweiz GmbH. Zürich - Altstetten - FriedWald. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.friedwald.ch/wald/zue-rich-altstetten/
  • Grünhölzli. Urban Gardening and Biodiversity Education Project. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.gruenhoelzli.ch/
  • Lopez-Pineiro, Sergio. 2020. A Glossary of Urban Voids. Berlin: Jovis.
  • Solnit, Rebecca. "Wanderlust: A History of Walking." 2001.
  • Stadt Zürich. “Baubeginn auf dem Areal Dunkelhölzli.” Medienmitteilungen, January 2025. Accessed August 3, 2025. https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/de/aktuell/medienmitteilungen/2025/01/baubeginn-auf-dem-areal-dunkelhoelzli.html.
  • Stadt Zürich, Environmental and Health Protection. Ecological Enhancement and Maintenance Concepts for Green Spaces. City of Zürich, 2024.
  • Stadt Zürich, Sports Department. Information on Sustainable Development Plans for the Buchlern Sport Fields. City of Zürich, 2024.
  • WWF Switzerland. Materials on the Protection of Wild Bees and the Importance of Pollinator Corridors. Zürich: WWF Switzerland, 2024.

ETH Zürich D-ARCH

Programme Director
Milica Topalović, Assoc. Professor
Chair of Architecture and Territorial Planinng

Programme Co-ordinator
Dr. Nancy Couling

EPFL ENAC

Programme Director
Paola Viganò, Professor
Habitat Research Center

Programme Co-ordinator
Dr. Tommaso Pietropolli