Tour de Sol

21-25 March 2022

One heat-source is perhaps the mother of all others: the sun. Sunlight, air and openness were the threefold antidote modernists prescribed for the ailing of the industrial city. The translation of medical prescriptions for tuberculosis therapy to physical form (white walls, roof decks, long horizontal windows, reclining chairs) was first manifest in sanatoriums and has endured as the leitmotifs of modern architecture ever since. The legacy of which now prove to be ill-equipped for the needs of a post-fossil fueled society. We have too much heat, just not in the places where it’s needed.

Water, because of it’s conductive properties, often accompanies warmth in the vicinities of human well-being. If we turn our gaze back towards the source, can we imagine the sun and water eventually replacing fossil fuel heating? What architectures and landscapes herald that future? We will make a Tour de Sol (yes, at times on a bike) to where the Swiss health and energy landscape eclipse. Warmth and comfort are not only technical issues to be dealt with, but qualities to be experienced with our bodies. We will expose ourselves to experiments in solar housing off the beaten track, sanatoriums, thermal baths, energy production facilites, places of healing and with a bit of luck, get a tan on the way.

21-25 March 2022

Price Range B (max. 500Fr.)

12 students