Teaching Modules

A series of abstract model scenes based on a free arrangement of analogue objects and colour photographic reproduction thereof. After an introduction to various compositional strategies, the students were asked to build and compose a series of still-life sets: small three-dimensional models consisting of coloured objects with basic shapes and geometries. With the aid of a coherently chosen camera position and sophisticated lighting design, the…

A series of perspectival and illusory visual compositions, based on the rearrangement of found, space-depicting photography fragments. This practical coursework was primarily about working with experimental and visual composition techniques. The main interest was in visually bringing together and rearranging the supposedly incompatible. After an introduction to digital image processing and montage techniques, the participants used computers to…

A series of retouched and edited photographs, based on transferring the visual characteristics of 3D computer graphics to the photographic image. In the first part of the course, the students collected a multitude of current and historical example images from the field of 3D computer graphics, such as screenshots of 3D video games, 3D illustrations or computer-generated 3D visualisations. The task was to analyse the visual characteristics of the…

A series of built model scenes and their photographic reproduction, based on the visual and stylistic characteristics of selected film stills. In the first part of the course, the students examined the visual aesthetics of selected film stills. The aim was to note the stylistic attributes and visual composition elements, and to subsequently transfer the gained insights to a series of newly imagined scenes by means of model making and…

A series of selected everyday objects, reinterpreted and transformed into utopian architectural designs. Continuing on from the Objets Trouvés module, in which everyday items were inserted into various large-scale visual contexts by means of montage, the aim of this advanced coursework was to articulate these recontextualised objects in utopian architectural project designs. After initially collecting everyday items with interesting forms…

A series of selected paintings, reconstructed using three-dimensional physical models, and their reproduction as photographic images. The starting point for the practical work was a selection of well-known paintings from the last century, in different styles. The unifying feature of the selected paintings was visual reproduction of a built context: a view of an urban space or single building, or else a depiction of an interior. The students were…

A series of selected paintings, reconstructed using virtual 3D models, and their depiction by means of computer-generated renderings. After an introduction to Cinema 4D, a 3D modelling and rendering program, the students were asked to develop a series of non-photorealistic images, the aesthetics and style of which were to lean more towards the characteristics of painting. To this end, a selection of well-known paintings from the last century, in…

A series of two-dimensional geometric compositional figures and their subsequent gradual transfer to a three-dimensional visual context. After an introduction to digital image-processing techniques and the teaching of visual composition strategies, the students were asked to examine two-dimensional abstract artworks in the first part of the coursework. The task was to note several approaches to visual composition, as well as to seek engagement…

A series of newly pieced-together fictitious compound words, interpreted and translated into pictorial representations. Perception, creativity and imagination are important cornerstones and starting points for any design-oriented or artistic activity. Creativity does not come out of thin air. It needs a playing field and a container of building blocks, from which to derive, rearrange and compose ideas. There is no doubt that the architect, when…

A series of everyday objects, reinterpreted on the basis of antonyms and translated into images. This practical coursework focused on working with experimental design techniques and playfully using language, which was to be utilised here as a vehicle for conception and imagination. The starting point was a selection of various everyday objects, furnishings and architectural elements. Their characteristics and properties (form, function…

A series of selected still images from the field of cinematography, reconstructed in a 3D scene and reproduced as an image by means of computer-generated rendering. After an introduction to the 3D graphics program Cinema 4D, the students were presented with various film stills that had to be accurately recreated in detail, in a 3D scene. The focus of the work was on analysing the images’ cinematic atmospheres, and on recreating and simulating…

A series of everyday objects taken out of their usual context and visually re-embedded in a pictorial large-scale (natural or built) environment. In the practical part of the course, the students were asked to put together a personal collection of everyday objects with interesting forms and to subsequently capture them photographically. Once photographed, the objects were detached from their photographic backgrounds and listed in an inventory.

A series of well-known Swiss village views and their subsequent provocative visual redensification by means of montage. The work summarised under the title “Beautiful New Switzerland” was the subject of a 4-day seminar in 2011 at Hochschule für Technik in Zurich (HSZ-T). The task was to develop pictorial visions using photography and subsequent montage, in an attempt to visually condense heritage-protected central zones of well-known Swiss…

An examination of two-dimensional abstract artworks and their three-dimensional interpretation, using analogue models, as well as image-based spatial representations. The starting point for the practical work was a selection of well-known abstract artworks from the fields of concrete art, colour-field painting and hard-edge painting. The unifying feature of the selected paintings was the more or less articulated geometric painting style – with…

A series of computer-drawn textures and patterns, parametrically described and programmed using the programming language Processing. This coursework focused on programming and generating graphic textures and patterns using the programming language Processing. After a brief introduction to the basics of coding and the concept of parametric design, the intention was to show the students a practical and creative approach to programming. For easy…

A series of fictitious 3D assemblages, based on free arrangement of found 3D library components. The ongoing digital capture and representation of our environment is creating an ever-increasing quantity of individual information blocks and image components, which have become freely accessible and processable. In the past, sketches, collages, paintings and sculptures were primarily created with the aid of analogue design materials, whereas today…

A series of predefined basic three-dimensional bodies and their image-based representation using various selected approaches based on visual language. In the first part of the course, various examples of visual language from the fields of painting, graphics, film and photography were presented, and their respective visual-language-based approaches and compositional features were noted. The aim was to transfer the gained insights to the…

A series of abstract sculptures based on free composition and assemblage of found objects and their subsequent visual embedding in graphic and large-scale photographic contexts. In the practical part of the course, the students were asked to create various abstract sculptures from found objects: a freely composed collage of sculptural objects. For visual reproduction of these three-dimensional assemblages, they were subsequently photographed…

A series of imaginary architectural figures, based on free arrangement of found 3D library components. This coursework thematised the traditional pictorial genre of the architectural capriccio, but did so by incorporating newer digital visual processes and using material-independent resource elements (3D components) that can be isolated, distorted, textured and recombined at will. After an introduction to the 3D graphics program Cinema 4D, the…

A series of computer-calculated 3D still lifes, based on free composition of surfaces, volumes and found 3D-model objects. After an introduction to the 3D modelling and rendering program Cinema 4D, the students were asked to develop a stringent series of images, ranging from abstract planar visual compositions to representational three-dimensional ones. Conception, development and image generation were all to take place exclusively within the 3D…