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Günther Vogt

Landscape as a Cabinet of Curiosities

In Search of a Position

If there is no such thing as nature as a whole, perhaps there is landscape as a cabinet of curiosities. Thereby, in the best of cases, this lack of wholeness seems to be a gain rather than a loss. What is required for this kind of reinterpretation is an attentive observer who collects the various phenomena as individual elements, relates them to each other and rearranges them. Günther Vogt is one such collector, and his cabinet of curiosities can reveal both landscapes and his approach to them.

With reference to five different locations, Günther Vogt speaks about current themes of landscape architecture and its relationship to architecture and the city, about his teaching at the ETH Zurich, and about the work of Vogt Landscape Architects. This book can, in a way, itself be read as a cabinet of curiosities, for it offers an insight into the complex cosmos of Günther Vogt’s thought and work, and ultimately asks about a position.

English edition – also available in German

Author(s): Günther Vogt

Edited by Rebecca Bornhauser, Thomas Kissling, Chair of Günther Vogt, Institute for Landscape Architecture, ETH Zürich

12 x 19 cm, 4 ¾ x 7 ½ in

ca 228 pages, 64 illustrations

hardback

2015, 978-3-03778-304-7, English

Landscape Architecture Urban Development Public Space

CHF 30.00

Günther Vogt

Günther Vogt was born 1957 in Liechtenstein. His training at Gartenbauschule Oeschberg provided the practical basis for his intensive landscape work. His knowledge of vegetation and his skills in cultivation continue to be the cornerstones of his work. His studies with Peter Erni, Jürg Altherr and Dieter Kienast at Interkantonales Technikum Rapperswil combined the disciplines of culture, design, and natural sciences. In 2000 his office VOGT Landscape Architects emerged from the partnership with Dieter Kienast, with current branches in Berlin, London and Paris. The firm gained international recognition through projects such as the Tate Modern in London, Allianz Arena in Munich, or the Masoala Rainforest Hall at the Zurich Zoo. The work is characterized by a strong design attitude across scales, the cross-disciplinary exchange and fruitful cooperation with artist. From 2005 to 2022, GŸnther Vogt headed the Chair of Landscape Architecture at the ETH Zurich. In 2012 he was visiting professor at Havard Graduate School of Design and was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim by the Federal Office of Culture. As a passionate collector and keen traveler, he is looking for ways to read, interpret, and describe landscapes, and finding answers to questions about future forms of urban coexistence.

Thomas Kissling

Thomas Kissling (*1980) studied architecture at ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) Zurich, having previously trained as a draftsman. He graduated in 2010 under the tutelage of Prof. Wolfgang Schett. He has worked at ETH as a research assistant since 2010 and as a research associate at the Chair of Prof. Günther Vogt since 2016. His teaching and research focus on transformation processes in the Alpine landscape and topics relating to design methodology at the interface between digital and analog technology and practice. Kissling is co-editor of “Landscape as a Cabinet of Curiosities” (2015) and “Mutation and Morphosis” (2020) and the editor of “Solid, Fluid, Biotic” (2021).