Value Creation Between Nature and Architecture

This semester, the studio focuses on the materials wood and stone and examines what a maximum use of these building materials could mean for Switzerland’s urban landscape. Two case studies of Swiss timber and stone enterprises are examined, both of which actively contribute to regional material value creation and to the development of regenerative building cultures. The semester project is based on a bottom-up approach that studies material flows, processing methods, and forms of collaboration on economic, ecological, and socio-cultural levels, translating them into spatial and architectural strategies.

The process begins at the origin of the value chain in Savognin: with the forester in the forest, the sawyer at the sawmill, the timber builder in the workshop, and the carpenters on the construction site. In Vals, the focus lies on the quarry with the blasting specialist, the workshop with the stonemason, and the construction site with the mason. Through this, a comprehensive understanding of local materials and craft traditions, of the landscape as a living environment, of the legal frameworks, and of the social relationships strengthened through this multifaceted interplay can be developed.

The timber and stone industries use local resources while simultaneously contributing to the preservation and promotion of regional identity. As economic actors working directly with the landscape and its resources, both industries act as shapers and custodians of regional identity. Their processes operate across scales, generations, and thematic fields, thereby contributing to the resilience of a region.

In collaboration with the participating companies and representatives of the canton, it is examined at which locations, at which scales, and by which means the respective value chains can be strengthened in the future. The focus lies on two levels of scale: on the one hand, the spatial-regional level, which improves the framework conditions for access to, extraction, and processing of natural resources; and on the other hand, the material and constructive level, on which new high-quality hybrid building components — and thus new building typologies — are developed from residual materials.

Department

ZHAW | School of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering

Semester

Spring 2026

Project Partners

Pia and Pius Truffer | Truffer AG, Vals
Enrico Uffer | UFFER Holzbau AG, Savognin