“(N)ON – Material Atmospheres”

This fourth edition of the joint pedagogical program in the framework of two-week long Exchange Schools – a Summer School 2026 in Switzerland and Winter School 2027 in South Korea, will consist of lectures, workshops, studios and prototyping experiences. The essential part of each Exchange School is the visit of case study buildings by students and the analysis of the building design, operation, indoor comfort, occupant’s satisfaction, and behaviour by different student groups. The main task of the student groups is closely associated with on-site measurement sessions, performance assessments and interviews over selected case studies.

This ARC-HEST edition focuses on the “interaction between architecture materiality and atmosphere”. By analyzing the engenderment relationship between the materiality and atmosphere, the groups revisit the essential questions of “What are the fundamentals elements of architecture.” The student groups will study the effects of diverse materials on indoor performance measures and create prototypes of the resulting fictional space atmospheres during the Summer Workshop in 17 – 28 August, 2026. During the Winter Workshop in 25 January – 5 February, 2027, the participants will have the opportunity to join the real building case studies for ideation of how the fictional atmospheres of an actual space impacts their materiality.