Reto Geiser – författare

In this low-priced special edition, the book brings together the work of the Los Angeles-based architectural practice Johnston Marklee since its foundation in 1998. The practice is known for its uniform conceptual approach to each project and is internationally recognized for its engagement with contemporary art practices while being deeply rooted in the history and practice of architecture. The book provides an insight into Johnston Marklee’s design process and cooperation with experts from related fields. It draws its material from seven conversations and seven artists’ interpretations of Johnston Marklee’s buildings and projects. A comprehensive list of work illustrated with small photographs and diagrams concludes this monograph. .

Sigfried Giedion’s small but vocal manifesto Befreites Wohnen (1929) is an early manifestation of modernist housing ideology and as such is key to the broader understanding of the ambitions of the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM) and the debate on the industrialization of construction processes and its impact on public housing at the beginning of the twentieth century. An important step in Giedion’s rise as one of the foremost propagators of modern architecture, this manifesto is based on the argumentative power of visual comparisons, and is the only book the art historian both authored and designed. Along a facsimile edition in German, Giedion’s Befreites Wohnen is presented here for the first time in English translation (by Reto Geiser and Rachel Julia Engler). It is completed with annotations and a scholarly essay that anchors the work in the context of its time and suggests the book’s relevance for contemporary architectural discourse.

For more than 300 years, we have been exploring the role of nature in urban development. From the Tuileries in Paris and London’s Hyde Park—both opened to the public in the late 17th century—to today’s urban forests, the approaches of architects, engineers, landscape designers, and their clients to nature are inextricably linked to technical challenges as well as political and social demands.Since the Age of Enlightenment, urban nature has also been closely intertwined with concerns about hygiene and efforts to mitigate economic inequalities and social divisions. This marks a common thread of urban planning and has shaped the transformation of Paris under Baron Haussmann and the creation of New York’s Central Park. To this day, the evolution of urban nature runs hand-in-hand with changing ideas of society.In his groundbreaking book, first published in French in 2024, distinguished architectural historian Antoine Picon demonstrates how urban nature has gained importance over centuries and reached an entirely new dimension in our age of global warming and climate crisis. He highlights the urgency to forge new connections between people and their environment: with soil, water, vegetation, and animal populations.Picon illustrates how far we have already come and invites us to be innovative about our cities’ future.

Das Berufsbild des Architekten hat sich angesichts des Wandels zu einer globalisierten Gesellschaft nachhaltig verändert und wird sich auch weiterhin verändern. Die Anforderungen entsprechen bereits heute nicht mehr dem Profil, das der klassischen Architekturausbildung zugrunde liegt. In diesem Kontext stellt sich nicht mehr allein die Frage nach dem Gebäude, sondern auch die nach einer veränderten Herangehensweise an das Bauen und nach neuen Wegen im Entwurf selbst.Hier setzt Explorations an: International renommierte Autoren, alle auch Professoren und damit unmittelbar in die beschriebenen Prozesse eingebunden, befassen sich mit den zentralen Themen der zeitgenössischen Architekturforschung. Anhand der Arbeiten ihrer Entwurfsstudios (ETH Zürich: Marc Angélil, Fabio Gramazio/Matthias Kohler EPFL Lausanne: Harry Gugger, Dieter Dietz) werden die Themen exemplarisch diskutiert und in die angewandte Forschung und Praxis transferiert. Kurze und leicht verständliche Essays zu den wesentlichen Architekturströmungen des 2 . Jh. verdeutlichen den Bezug zu kanonischer Architekturforschung. Reto Geiser, Architekt, studierte an der ETH Zürich und der Columbia University New York und war von 2 3-2 4 als William Muschenheim Fellow und Dozent für Architketur und Design an der University of Michigan (USA). Derzeit ist er Doktorand am Institut gta an der ETH Zürich.Reto Geiser realisiert Projekte im Spannungsfeld Architektur, Installation und visuelle Kultur. In Basel leitet er die Reihe „Standpunkte. Informelle Gespräche zur zeitgenössischen ArchitekturKultur" . Für die XI. Architekturbiennale in Venedig kuratiert Geiser derzeit den schweizer Beitrag.