Territorial Turn

Urbanism is the art, science and technology of developing human settlements. It is less about the buildings themselves than about their arrangement, relationship to each other, and connection to the environment. Crises have influenced the discipline of urbanism as much as they have had an impact on the development of various urbanist movements. Currently, the pandemic, as well as the challenges posed by climate change, such as increased severe weather events, confront us with the fragility of the building environment and calls for a rethinking of the goals and means of urbanism. In the face of immense environmental and social challenges, a paradigm shift in planning and design approaches is needed. 

The exhibition Territorial Turn conceived by the Institute of Urbanism at TU Graz, under the direction of Prof. Aglaée Degros, describes the essential change in fundamental framework conditions and values in urbanism. This paradigm shift stands for a holistic, cross-sectoral and networked understanding of space as well as for a close connection of the built environment with living systems—an approach that replaces the predominantly building-oriented attitude in urbanism in favour of an increased appreciation of public space. Here, the space between buildings is understood as essential to environmental and social change. 

Projects should not be defined by property boundaries, but require planning and design that is situated in a larger context and integrates existing socio-ecological systems and cycles. This results in large, interconnected urban systems that gain greater resilience through interconnected structures and transcend the goals of economic progress, modernity, and technology. Territorial Turn follows the notion of an overarching spatial vision of a just and ecological city with a high quality of life for people and the environment.

The exhibition introduces bold concepts, presents pioneering solutions, and describes fundamental urban design concepts that contribute to actively thinking, planning, designing, and implementing an ecological and equitable urban future on a territorial scale. Seven selected practical examples from Nantes, Leipzig, Amsterdam, Leuven, Vienna, Péronnes-lez-Antoing and Trofaiach are used to demonstrate a forward-looking approach to urban design. 

As a collaborative extension of the exhibition, Graz residents are invited to identify and submit spatial situations in need of action in their city in order to jointly develop new spatial proposals for redesign in the sense of the Territorial Turn. 

The contents of the exhibition are based on the publication Basics of Urbanism—12 Notions of Territorial Transformation by the Institute of Urbanism, TU Graz, published by Park Books.

The exhibition was created in cooperation with Haus der Architektur. 
Curator team: Prof. Aglaée Degros, Radostina Radulova-Stahmer, Carina Mazelle (Institute of Urbanism, TU Graz)

Symposium
An international symposium of the Institute of Urbanism at TU Graz with thematic reference to the exhibition will take place from September 15–16, 2022 at TU Graz. Numerous renowned international keynote speakers such as Paola Viganò (EPF Lausanne), Stefan Rettich (University of Kassel), Eva Pfannes (Ooze), Susanne Eliasson (Grau) will present their perspectives on the Territorial Turn. In addition, panel discussions with Han Meyer (TU Delft) and Marcel Smets (KU Leuven) are planned. 
(Registration: urbagraz@tugraz.at)

Publication: Basics of Urbanism
Editors: Aglaée Degros, Anna Maria Bagarić, Sabine Bauer, Radostina Radulova-Stahmer, Mario Stefan, Eva Schwab
1st Edition, 2021; Texts German, English
Softcover 244 pages, 103 color illustrations, graphics and plans
ISBN 978-3-03860-260-6

The Institute of Urbansim at TU Graz is being headed by Prof. Aglaée Degros since 2016. Aglaée Degros is an architect and urban designer, Professor of Urbanism at Graz University of Technology and also Honorary Fellow at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels. In 2001, she co-founded the office for urban design Artgineering with Stefan Bendiks. Degros has held various teaching positions and visiting professorships, including at the Delft University of Technology, the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the Vienna University of Technology and the Politecnico Milano (2022).