Swiss Window Journeys: Architectural Field Notes maps the window as a climatic, cultural, and architectural instrument across Switzerland, using hand-drawn field research to reveal how geography and history have shaped one of architecture's most fundamental elements.
About This Book
The window is rarely treated as a subject in its own right — yet few architectural elements carry as much consequence for how we inhabit space. This book begins from the premise that Switzerland's unusual position — at the geomorphological and cultural crossroads of the Alps — has produced an exceptional diversity of window forms. Through field research, full-page hand drawings, and conversations with Swiss architects, the book constructs a rigorous portrait of the window as both technical device and cultural artefact. It addresses historical, socioeconomic, and climatic conditions that shape window design, while also opening ecological perspectives for contemporary architectural practice. Essential reading for architects engaged with building envelope, daylighting, and climate-responsive design.
Key Features
- 240 pages of full-page hand drawings depicting windows within complex networks of architectural elements, accompanied by analytical short texts
- Conversations with Swiss architects on contemporary window design challenges
- Published by gta Verlag, ISBN 9783856764586
What You'll Discover
- How the geomorphology of the Alps and Switzerland's position at European cultural intersections have generated a distinctive wealth of regional window typologies
- The window read as a system component — part of a complex network of room elements — rather than an isolated architectural detail
- Historical, technological, and socioeconomic conditions behind specific window configurations, explored through short texts accompanying each drawing
- Ecological perspectives on window design and its role as a tool for a creative life practice in contemporary building
About the Author
[Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 240
- Dimensions: 21.5 x 2.2 x 28.4 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783856764586
- Publisher: gta Verlag
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and designers working with building envelope and climate-responsive design, architectural historians, and researchers with an interest in Swiss vernacular and contemporary window typologies.