Info

AGENDA

Station+ (s+) is a teaching and research platform at the Institute for Design at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich. It was established in 2017 and is based on the collaborative film series, Legislating Architecture, The Property Drama, and Architecting after Politics (Brandlhuber+ Olaf Grawert and Christopher Roth, 2016 – 2018). These films explored the potential of film and storytelling in popularizing discourses on themes that shape architecture, from theory to practice. Building on this notion, s+ was founded as an architecture TV station to further explore the potential of video and film as design tools for form-making beyond the built object, between fact and fiction, in space and time.

Rather than conforming to conventional concepts of architecture, s+ offers proposals that challenge the underlying systematics that limit collective and individual imagination. We need new starting points to imagine alternative ways of designing the world. s+ aims to overcome a retroactive architectural practice that legitimizes formal decisions through fabricated tales after the fact. Instead, we seek to unlock the power of speculative architecting. By embedding narratives, the focus of design shifts from the object and its manifestation to the argument behind it. As Christopher Roth said, "Don’t complain. Design a strong argument. Compress the argument. If it does not survive compression, it is not a good argument. That is how we make TV."

Join us!

We believe architecture is active: to architect. To change something, propose a model that makes the old one obsolete.

We don’t believe in the lonely genius. Neither in resistance, withdrawal or anarchy.

We try to make complex ideas seem simple. Design Arguments, form positions, create a tagline, be populist.

Stop looking at yourself. Look around you. Interesting things are always close by.

We speculate even as we try to minimize uncertainties.

We try to think politically about the relations between subjects, whether human or non-human.

We believe in compression. If arguments don’t survive compression, they are no good arguments.

We believe in (science) fiction, the realism of our time. The future is neither a nightmare nor a daydream.

CURRENT TEAM

Arno Brandlhuber (DE, 1964) is an architect and urban planner at bplus.xyz (Berlin), a collaborative practice that emerged from Brandlhuber+ (2006-2021). In his architectural production, from buildings to research to media, he deals with the existing building stock with a focus on legislation. He understands the given not as a restriction but rather as an active design tool to challenge the norms. This approach resulted in several buildings such as Brunnenstrasse 9, Antivilla or St. Agnes, and three films: Legislating Architecture (2016), The Property Drama (2017), and Architecting after Politics (2018), together with director Christopher Roth. Brandlhuber's engagement with the medium of film and its political and spatial potential led to the founding of station+ at ETH Zurich in 2017, a collaboration that resulted in 2038 - The New Serenity, the German Pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennale, together with Olaf Grawert, Nikolaus Hirsch, and Christopher Roth.

Severin Bärenbold (CH, 1987) is a cinematographer and film producer based in Zurich. He studied cinematography in Paris and co-founded the video production company Motor Productions after graduating, producing a variety of formats ranging from documentary to advertising, music videos and fiction film. His seminar Access to Tools focuses on the technical aspects and skills required in storytelling and the production of video formats and other time-based media. Bärenbold has been teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2017.

Ludwig Engel (DE, 1982) is a futurologist and urbanist based in Berlin. His post-disciplinary practice spans teaching, researching, curating, writing, publishing, organizing workshops, conferences, discourse platforms and advising companies and public institutions on the impact of futures and utopias for society’s capabilities to create and design better tomorrows. Together with Julian Schubert, he directs the Master’s program „Studio for Immediate Spaces“ at the Sandberg Instituut, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam. Engel has been collaborating with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2018.

Olaf Grawert (AT, 1987) is an architect, advisor and a partner at bplus.xyz (Berlin). Together with a close network of collaborators, he works on architectural projects that bridge theory and practice, from campaigns and exhibitions to publications and films. His work focuses on the political and economic conditions of spatial production, with a particular interest in the potential of architecture to effect social change. Grawert was co-curator of 2038 - The New Serenity, the German Pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennale, and is co-editor of "What is architecture?". He has been teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2017.

Alina Ana Kolar (AT, 1990) is a communication scientist, creative strategist, and curator specializing in visual cultures and political semiotics. She works at the intersection of art, activism, and social change, with a particular focus on the visuality of political events and representations of the public. An expert in diverse and inclusive management across organizations, Alina has built global partnerships and specialist consultancies that move fluidly through the public and private creative sectors. Between 2017-2022, she co-founded and led the international street newspaper, publishing house, and philanthropic organization Arts of the Working Class. Kolar is researching and teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2023.

Maximilian Lewark (DE, 1998) is an architect and co-founder of optimist office. The architecture collective is built on a fluid collaboration on academic and independent projects since 2018. They focus on renovation designs, studies and workshops in Europe and Switzerland. Previously, Maximilian collaborated with amongst others Büro Krucker in Zurich. He has been teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2024.

Josiane Schmidt (DE, 1997) is an architect and co-founder of optimist office. The architecture collective is built on a fluid collaboration on academic and independent projects since 2018. Advocating for a transformation beyond materiality, they put the idea of spatial responsibility to the fore. Previously, Josiane collaborated with amongst others noAarchitecten in Brussels. She has been teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2024.

Alexander Throm (DE, 1998) is an architect and co-founder of optimist office. The architecture collective is built on a fluid collaboration on academic and independent projects since 2018. Their work has been exhibited at ZAZ Bellerive in Zurich, et al. in Brussels and has been awarded by SIA. Previously, Alexander collaborated with amongst others Büro Krucker in Zurich. He has been teaching with station+ at ETH Zurich since 2024.


RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Franziska Gödicke, Lena Heidl, Cami Minger, Maurus Wirth


FORMER TEAM
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