IFA Institute for Architecture

Research in architecture must be close to the actual architectural profession and craft. It must provide insights into how we plan and build an environment worth living in. It also seeks to stimulate and support a discourse on «good building» at the intersection of societal challenges, technological possibilities and economic questions.

In its interdisciplinary research, the Institute of Architecture therefore aims to process and preserve architectural knowledge between modernity and tradition and make it usable for future teaching and architectural practice.

Research priorities

Space and perception – instruments of interdisciplinary spatial design

When characteristics like dimension, proportion, color, light or sound work optimally together in a space, they directly affect our well-being and social interaction. For this reason, the IFA conducts interdisciplinary research, especially on the specific use of light in indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as the potential of textile structures and integral room acoustics.

Building Culture in Eastern Switzerland – an archive of architectural knowledge

Against the backdrop of respective societal conditions, the IFA investigates the building culture of Eastern Switzerland and its urban planning and architectural development processes. The focus is on the architectural and socio-spatial quality of the region, its places, neighborhoods and buildings, with the aim of deriving practices for future spatial development processes.