In times of planetary crises, architecture needs to be approached as a component of the urban ecosystem. The intricate relationship between architecture and the city is a transscalar design task, interwoven within and beyond various natural, cultural, and built systems that enable human settlements. Architecture needs to invent and intervene, developing comprehensive solutions for the pressing challenges urban landscapes face collectively.

This design studio focuses on climate resilience in the built environment. In collaboration with the City of Innsbruck, students tackle the alpine-urban condition that forms the natural, cultural and built context. Working in teams, students collaboratively engage the urban climate through critical architectural interventions. The goals for each team include designing tangible, climate-fit solutions, working closely with an interdisciplinary team of instructors from various universities. 

After identifying a specific site, students explore, analyze, and synthesize assets and challenges to develop concrete design strategies and actions. They apply global frameworks for urban sustainability and engage the urban fabric on the human-built interface of everyday life.