Portugal Lessons

How does architecture confront its environment? With whom we live, to whom we open our house and how permeable should its boundary be?

Architectural objects confront their environment. They constitute a boundary, a form with an internalized point of view. Understanding architecture as environmental objects suggest a questioning of these dichotomies of separation between the symbolic landmark and the landscape background. It represents an architecture that amplifies nature, attunes to it and makes us aware of it.

Portugal Lessons: Imagining Architecture as Environmental Object takes Portugal as case study for such contextualism going beyond and understanding of design as immunization. Based on the latest research program conducted by EPFL's Laboratory Basel (laba), it explores the topic of this architectural boundary: with whom we live with, to whom we open our house, how permeable the boundary should be. The findings are visualized in striking images, graphics and maps. The book also features proposals for architectural interventions by laba's students, all of them tackling issues of housing.

• Explores the context between architectural object and its surrounding landscape
• Visualizes recent research findings of EPFL's Laboratory Basel (laba) in striking informative graphics, maps, and photographs

• Features proposals for architectural interventions in the significant field of housing by laba's students

  Autorentext
  Harry Gugger ist Architekt in Basel und Professor an der EPFL sowie Leiter von deren Laboratoire Bâle (laba). Barbara Costa ist Architektin und Doktorandin am laba. Augustin Clément ist Architekt und arbeitet als Teaching Assistant am laba. Tiago Trigo ist Architekt und arbeitet als Teaching Assistant am laba. Charlotte Truwant ist Architektin und arbeitet als Research Assistant am laba.