Professor of Architecture and Urban Design

The new professor will engage with contemporary urban challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and social inequality through concrete urban design projects. Drawing on extensive practical experience, she/he will play a vital role in advancing and implementing urban design education and research at the Institute for Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS) (www.lus.arch.ethz.ch')).

The new professor will be mainly responsible for teaching design (design studio and master’s thesis) and for providing lectures to students in the Bachelor and Master of Architecture programmes. Lectures will provide knowledge of the basic strategies, approaches, concepts and tools activated in contemporary urban design practice and their potential to address current urban challenges. At the heart of design education will be knowledge about the relationship between material, typological and morphological choices and the cultural, social, economic and political aspects of the built environment.

She/he is expected to propose and develop a state-of-the-art research agenda exploring contemporary urban challenges such as mitigating the effects of climate change, dealing more sustainably with resources and installing conditions for more socially just urban environments. She/he will cooperate with professorships in the Department of Architecture and across different ETH departments. Of particular importance is the collaboration with the professorships at the Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies (LUS) and strong interest in cooperation with the professorships at the Institute of Design and Architecture (IEA).

The successful candidate has an internationally- esteemed urban design portfolio and is recognised by peers as a leader in the practice field, as well as a strong voice in the scholarly reflection upon this field. Qualifications include a university degree and usually experience, both in research and teaching in the academic context. Responsible leadership of a group of employees and the commitment to help develop the Department of Architecture beyond the boundaries of his/her own field of expertise are expected. Courses at ETH Zurich are generally taught in German or English.