Sicily sits at the convergence of two tectonic plates, a condition that has shaped not only the island’s natural landscape, but also its cities. The catastrophic earthquakes of 1169, 1693, and 1968 produced distinct urban typologies born directly out of destruction and reconstruction. In Palermo, Cefalù, and across Sicily’s northern coast, this seismic activity takes a particular urban form: rock erupts from the city itself, creating an urban topography of natural monuments around which human settlement has organised itself for millennia. Monte Pellegrino stands at Palermo’s edge as sanctuary; La Rocca in Cefalù towers over the Norman cathedral below, the city compressed between cliff and sea.
The studio takes this condition as its primary subject, examining how architecture is built into, or carved from, the city’s topographies. But it also takes seriously the word at the centre of its title: topography — from the Greek topos (place) and graphia (description) — is not merely a physical condition but a way of reading and documenting place as part of what defines its physical form. Accordingly, the studio’s methodology treats representation as research: photography, drawing, and filmmaking will be our primary instruments.
Reading list:
The Palermo Atlas / OMA
Incompiuto – The Birth of a Style
Etna / Stefano Graziani
Watch list:
Il Grande Cretto di Gibellina, Petra Noordkamp (2015)
Palermo Shooting, Wim Wenders (2008)
Gibellina – La città moderne, Nina Maria Küchler (2022)
Methods:
The studio methods include direct fieldwork with photography, drawing and filmmaking. A week-long excursion to Palermo forms the core of the research phase, during which students will work independently across the city and its surroundings. After returning to Vienna, students will move from fieldwork into post-production and design development, translating the material gathered in Palermo into architectural projects. Throughout both phases, the studio will be joined by invited critics and practitioners — photographers, filmmakers, and experts with deep knowledge and experience with Palermo’s architecture — who will contribute to reviews, workshops, and ongoing project discussions.
Lecturers:
Wilfried Kuehn
Gili Merin
Nikola Miloradovic
Tutor:
Alexander Feigl
Further information:
Kick-off: Thu, 15th of October 2026, 10.00 – 13.00, Projektraum 4.
Meetings will take place every Thursday.
This design studio will be held in English and will include an excursion to Palermo, Italy.
Excursion: 9.11.2026 – 14.11.2026
Every day will include tours with local experts and independent fieldwork between 8:30-16:30, followed by a meeting with the lecturers from 18:00-20:00 to review the day’s work.
9.11.: Arrival, tour of Palermo
10.11.: Palermo + Monte Pelegrino
11.11.: Gibellina + Cretto di Burri
12.11.: Cefalù
13.11.: Palermo
14.11.: Independent fieldwork filming and departure