Institut für Gestaltung / .studio1

Studio1 is directed to exploring and questioning issues related to the mostly constructed, mostly artificial contemporary environment.

Its interests cover a wide spectrum of topics related to and implicit in the production of architecture and its accumulation in urbanized regions. These range from the development of critical assessments of landscape and urban environments to the understanding of relationships of design and production, from studies of social and cultural phenomena to their translation into physical realities.

Studio1 promotes the discussion of architecture within a multidisciplinary context. Research projects have been developed in cooperation with other European universities, to stimulate a broader approach to regional topics. The Institute runs regular workshops with invited contributors from different fields, including landscape and cultural studies, media & applied arts. Through collaborations with local and regional institutions as well as with international partners, the activities of Studio1 are aimed at establishing a constructive and critical dialogue not only internally, but also within a broader public context.

Our programs address changing conditions and their effects on various aspects of the environment at different scales. They highlight restructuring processes that lead to an unprecedented urbanization on the one hand and to ruralization on the other, processes occurring at an environmental scale, involving cities and landscapes alike.

The single instances, architectural objects or systems that contribute to this, result from the interaction of a broad and diverse range of factors which require to be gauged, understood and balanced in relation to a critical context. Current research is exploring the relationship between urban structures, landscapes and the architectural manifestations that they foster.

Stefano de Martino