Luca Bronca

Today’s discussion of sustainability in architecture often revolves around the notions of durability and energy performance at the material level and sharing at the social level. But what if we create an architecture that isn’t durable, but rather fragile and in need of regular interaction to be maintained? An architecture that sees the act of taking responsibility and care for a building as a factor that goes beyond today’s discourse, but that could be just as important.

The former ETH Villa is not seen as an erratic building - a commodity that can be consumed at will - but rather as a character with a life that demands to be maintained and interacted with. The act of creating space and keeping up its existence as part of dwelling. 

Instead of selling the building, ETH takes responsibility and provides the Villa VOB as a testing ground for this approach. Fragility, material interaction and spatial complexity as a way to increase density, enhance personal affection and in return lead to lower rents and lasting architecture.

Keeping the land in the possession of ETH and renting it out to third parties for a defined period will result in a building that changes and adapts over time. A character that can be altered, rewritten and tell the passing of time.