The Design of the Monumental Grounds Moved by the AlpTransit Construction Activities in the Swiss Landscapes

A Night Flight, Four Steps for the Research Process

The doctoral research process could be subdivided into four main components.

An observation phase: an inductive and interpretative approach that starts from a personal interaction with the treated phenomena.

The delineation of a theoretical framework, namely the identification of the state of the art, that advances contextually to the observation.

The examination of a relevant case study.

A research trough drawing, that mainly uses drawings as tools to carry out the critical investigation on the selected landscapes, questioning how massive earth movements could become part of a landscape design language and thinking. In particular temporal maps, made by plans and sections, together with pictures, act as a critical de-composition (reading-action) to understand the structure of landscapes and the physiognomy of the grounds, far beyond the act of seeing. Topographical drawings trace praxis of new morphologies and ground movements before, during and after the realization of the infrastructural disposal sites. Conceptual design proposals are finally developed as a fundamental part of the research and are based on a re-composition (writing-action) that aim to envision and emphasize the structures (as two artificial mountains, a monumental wall, a monumental reshaped topography, a monumental re-naturalized river delta) of monumental grounds in the near future.

The presentation will try to blend all the four components, mainly focusing on the ongoing research by drawing part of the thesis.