Neither old nor new . The quest for an autonomous architecture.

The lecture will present an overall view on the last 40 years of architectural production in Switzerland, from the ground-breaking competitions of the 1970s, to the rise of the so-called Analogue School and their interest of images in the 1980s, to the shift from an cultural understanding of architectural to a more material one in the 2000s up to the contemporary production. The lecture will focus on the notion of autonomy and its changing destiny.

Laurent Stalder is an associate professor for the history and theory of architecture at ETHZ since 2011. The main focus of Laurent Stalder’s research and publications is the history and theory of architecture from the 19th to the 21st centuries where it intersects with the history of technology. His most recent publications include Hermann Muthesius: Das Landhaus als kulturgeschichtlicher Entwurf (2008), Valerio Olgiati (2008), Der Schwellenatlas (2009), and God & Co. François Dallegret: Beyond the Bubble (2011), Atelier Bow-Wow. A Primer (2013). His articles have been published in various journals, including AA Files, Arch+, Greyroom, The Journal of Architecture, Werk, Bauen & Wohnen and The Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte.