Buildings on the Move: Investigating Architectural Relocation Processes

We often think of buildings as fixed in their locations, but many buildings have been physically moved from their original sites for reasons as diverse as economic development, aesthetic imperatives or environmental necessity. Building relocation processes are complex design and technical endeavors that involve diverse actors, including owners, architects, engineers, public and private entities, among others. The course investigates diverse building relocation case-studies in detail, from the 20th c. up to now, focusing on the actors involved, infrastructures required, techniques invented and on how the buildings transformed in the process.

Case-studies include the translocation of the Temples of Abu Simbel (1960s), Aldo Rossi’s floating Teatro del Mondo (1980), the relocation of vernacular houses to Ballenberg (1978) and, more recently, the rolling over of a machine factory building in Oerlikon (2012), among others. In addition, guest lectures by architects will present ongoing building relocations, demonstrating relevance today.

This course is structured on weekly lectures and guest lectures, followed by discussions on short readings and assignment workshops. The first assignment is a brief writing exercise and the final assignment is a visual script of a building relocation. The course is graded pass/fail.