EPFL presents a major ongoing research on urban issues for the 15th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, happening on Certosa Island from May 28 until November 20, 2016.

Developed through the work of urbanist Paola Viganò and her team (ENAC School, EPFL) in academic context with students of GSD Harvard, IUAV and EPFL, this project is conceived as an incremental pluridisciplinary research to be enriched by actors called to join the conversation. This exhibition reprensents a platform for further investigations to identify strategies for the contemporary city.

Exhibition at Rimessagio, Vento di Venezia, Isola della Certosa

Certosa round tables and workshops

THUR 26 MAY - 18:30
EXHIBITION AND PROJECT LAUNCH
hosted by SALON SUISSE - Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Venezia 
Among others: Leila El-Wakil (UNIGE), Paola Viganò (EPFL)

FRI 27 MAY - 10:00
EXHIBITION OPENING & PRESS EVENT
Brunch at Rimessaggio, Isola della Certosa
Paola Viganò (EPFL-IUAV), Cyril Veillon (ARCHIZOOM, EPFL), Chiara Cavalieri (EPFL), Martina Barcelloni Corte (EPFL), Marine Durand (EPFL), Roberto Sega (EPFL), Qinyi ZHANG (IUAV), Tommaso Pietropolli

Casa dell'Ortolano, Isola della Certosa:

SAT 28 MAY
17:00
SKY OVER HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, Droneports in Africa for Redline project
Ricky Burdett (LSE), Norman Foster (Foster + Partners), Jonathan Ledgard (Redline), Cyril Veillon (ARCHIZOOM, EPFL), Paola Viganò (EPFL, IUAV)

18:00
Opening round table
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, A RADICAL PROJECT
Paola Viganò (EPFL, IUAV), Pierre Belanger (Harvard GSD), Stephen Cairns (Future Cities Lab, ETHZ), Rahul Mehrotra (Harvard GSD), Danai Thaitakoo (Chulalongkorn University), EPFL Bachelor students


SUN 29 MAY - 10:00
Round table #02
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, THE REVENGE OF TERRITORY
Pierre Bélanger (OPSYS, Harvard GSD), Paola Viganò (EPFL, IUAV), John van Nostrand (SvN), Eriel Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Alessandra Ponte (Université de Montréal), George Osodi (Photographer), Nina-Maria Lister (Ryerson), Sanford Kwinter (Pratt), Ziggi Golding (Z Photographic)


SUN 19 JUNE - 11:00
Round table #03
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, IMAGINING THE TERRITORY
Among others Paola Viganò (EPFL-IUAV), Jacques Lévy (EPFL), Andrea Cavalletti (IUAV)


SAT 16 JULY - 18:00
Round table #04
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, A COMPELLING RESEARCH FIELD
Among others P. Viganò (EPFL, IUAV), Richard Sennett (NYU)

FRI 26 AUG - 18:00
Round table #05
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, MEASURES AND TRADITIONS
Among others Cristina Bianchetti (Politecnico di Torino), Lorenzo Fabian (IUAV), Viviana Ferrario (IUAV), Vincent Kaufmann (EPFL), Terry McGee (University of British Columbia), Stefano Munarin (IUAV), Grahame Shane (Columbia University), Maria Chiara Tosi (IUAV), Paola Viganò (EPFL-IUAV), W. Zhu (Zhejiang University)

SAT 17 – SUN 25 SEP
DESIGN WORKSHOP, THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, VENICE
EPFL+European Master in Urbanism students

FRI 23 – SUN 26 SEP
PhD MASTERCLASS (EPFL+IUAV), THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS AND OTHER RESEARCH QUESTIONS
EPFL+IUAV PhD students

SUN 25 SEP - 11:00
Round table #06
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, VENICE
Design Workshop: students presentations and discussion, EPFL + European Master in Urbanism students


SUN 23 OCT - 11:00
Round table #07
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, TOWARDS NEW ALLIANCES
Among others C. Arnsperger (UNIL), Claudia Binder (EPFL), Elena Cogato Lanza (EPFL), Andrea Rinaldo (EPFL), Monique Ruzicka-Rossier (EPFL), Eric Verrecchia (UNIL), Paola Viganò (EPFL-IUAV)


SAT 26 NOV - 15:00
Closing round table
THE HORIZONTAL METROPOLIS, THE FUTURE1  


Among others Marilyne Andersen (EPFL), Jerome Chenal (CEAT/EPFL), Vincent Kaufmann (EPFL), Jacques Lévy (EPFL) Luca Ortelli (EPFL), Paola Viganò (EPFL-IUAV), Ariane Widmer (SDOL)

  • 1.

    Horizontal Metropolis - a radical project

    Two contrasting terms are joined to conjugate the traditional idea of metropolis (the center of a vast territory, hierarchically organized, dense, vertical, produced by polarization) with horizontality (the idea of a more diffuse, isotropic urban condition, where center and periphery blur).

    Beyond a simplistic center/periphery opposition, this concept reveals the dispersed condition as a potential asset, rather than a limit, to the construction of a sustainable and innovative urban dimension.

    The exhibition will investigate the Horizontal Metropolis, its space, traditions and authors; its relevance today as an energetic, ecological and social design issue. It will explore scenarios and design strategies for the recycling and upgrading of cities-territory in a radical project.