Heisel, Felix and Bisrat Kifle (eds.) (2016). Lessons of Informality: Architecture and Urban Planning for Emerging Territories – Concepts from Ethiopia.  Basel: Birkhäuser. Never before have cities been so important. Today, cities are home to the majority of the world’s population, accommodate most of global production, and are the goal of millions of migrants around the world. Yet, increasingly, our cities are growing informally, planned and built by non-professionals. Informality resembles an evolutionary process more than a simple absence of rules. In itself, informality is neither illegal, nor dysfunctional, nor indicative of poverty; in fact, its actors, skills and capital100

Hebel, Dirk E. and Marc M. Angelil (eds.) (2016). Cities of Change Addis Ababa, 2nd and Revised Edition. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2nd and rev. ed. Aiming to identify sustainable strategies―rather than upholding an a priori vision of an ideal city―the publication acknowledges the heterogeneous conditions of urban territories. This revised edition highlights questions of method and procedure that can be transferred to other ‘cities of change’, and covers recent developments, such as the increasing influence of China in African countries or the chances of high-density, low-rise developments.  

Hebel, Dirk E., Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel (2016). Stavění z odpadu, ERA21 03/2016 Udržitelný nerůst: 62–63. Zahrada a pavilon budoucnosti ETH Curych na festivalu IdeasCity v New Yorku en— Building from Waste. Future Garden and Pavilion ETH Zurich at IdeasCity, New York Dirk E. Hebel a Philippe Block / Katedra architektury ETH Curych For the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York at the end of May, ETH Zurich constructed a 90 m2 pavilion made from recycled beverage packaging. The project, led by ETH Zurich`s Assistant Professor Dirk E. Hebel and Professor Philippe Block, aims to show the immense potential100

Himmelreich, Jørg, Elias Baumgarten (2016), Kontextwechsel = Ideentransfer, in: Archithese Bildungslandschaften, Juni-August 2016, Zürich, Switzerland In seinen Studio für Architektur und Konstruktion an der ETH Zürich möchte Dirk Hebel Studierende für einen verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit gegebenen Ressourcen sensibilisieren und daraus neue Entwurfs- und Konstruktionsprinzipien ableiten, welche den vorgefundenen Kontext mit seinen verfügbaren Materialien, Wissen, klimatischen Bedingungen, sowie kulturellen und sozialen Gefügen respektieren.

Hebel, Dirk und Aurel von Richthofen (2016). Alternativen inklusive, in: Stadt gibt es nicht! Unbestimmtheit als Programm in Architektur und Städtebau, Andri Gerber und Stefan Kurath (Hrsg.), DOM Publishers, Berlin, Deutschland. Den Urbanisierungsprozessen begegnet die Architektur- und Städtebautheorie seit Vitruv, Alberti, Filarete und sogar bis in die Neuzeit mit der Idealvorstellung von Stadt. Die richtige Stadt, die schöne Stadt oder etwa die gesunde Stadt scheinen Rezept und Medizin zugleich zu sein. Allerdings fehlt dieser Idealvorstellung die Wirkungskraft, da sie die Dynamiken des Stadtwerdens verdrängt, die insbesondere von Unbestimmheit geprägt sind. Unbestimmtheit muss zum Programm einer zeitgenössischen Praxis in Architektur und100

Hebel, Dirk E., Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel (2015). Building from Waste, Albenaa Magazine 36 / 302 (HVAC R EXPO SAUDI): 48–79. Waste is a result of any human action and interaction, bringing raw natural materials – understood so far as our sole form of resources – from one stage of being into another, by applying various forms of skills and energy. In this sense, waste was seen for centuries as something specific which neither belonged to the family of natural resources nor to the one of finished products. Waste was a by-product, unable to be categorized in our100

Jorisch, Philippe (2016). Charismatische Ökonomie; Die Geschichte als Ideenpool für neue Architektur, in: Archithese online. Jeannette Kuo zeigt in ihrem neuen Buch Space of Production, dass die Suche nach ökonomischen und strukturell effizienten Lösungen (unerwartet) zu prägnanter Architektur führen kann. Philippe Jorisch hat das Buch für uns gelesen… Read the full article here.

Hebel, Dirk E. and Felix Heisel (2015). Constructing Alternatives – Research Projects 2012-2015, FCL Magazin Special Issue (October 2015) The FCL Magazine Special Issue gives an overview of the research by the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel between 2012 and 2015 in Singapore at the Future Cities laboratory and the ETH Zürich.  So far underused or forgotten substances such as bamboo, sand substitutes, and waste, as well as questions on architectural and urban design strategies putting these in the center of investigation illustrate the overall aim to activate a alternative building methods and construction technologies and with it an informed100

Kron, Ben (2015). Bambus-Stahl und Maurer-Roboter, in: baublatt (October 16 2015): 12–17   Seit fünf Jahren forscht die ETH Zürich in Singapur gemeinsam mit lokalen Unis an Lösungen für die Megacities der Zukunft. Die Wissenschaftler realisieren dabei eine Reihe von bemerkenswerten Projekten, die den Städtebau nachhaltig beeinflussen könnten.

Fairs, Marcus (2015). Bamboo Fibre Is Stronger and Cheaper than Steel, Says Dirk Hebel, Dezeen Magazine (online). Bamboo could “revolutionise the building industry” and replace steel as the dominant reinforcing material, according to a professor who is working on new applications for the grass. Speaking at WAF in Singapore today, Dirk Hebel said that bamboo fibre could be used as a more sustainable and far cheaper alternative to steel on construction sites.  

Hebel, Dirk E., Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel (2015). Waste Not, Want Not, in: Land Journal High flyers (October/November 2015): 18–19 The potential to reuse the world’s growing piles of waste in the circular economy is discussed by Dirk E. Hebel, Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel.

Methels, Katharina (2015). Smart nach Plan, in: WirtschaftsWoche Global Singapur: Ansichten eines Stadtstaates(1/15): 44–49. Fast alle Schwellenländer müssen ihre Baustoffe zu Preisen importieren, die der Westen diktiert. Bambus hingegen kostet nicht nur einen kleinen Bruchteil vom Stahlpreis, er wächst auch überall dort, wo derzeit die neuen Megacitys entstehen: Südostasien, Afrika, Südamerika.

Hebel, Dirk E (2015). Technologie: Material und Technik – Dirk Hebel. in BodenSchätzeWerte, Unser Umgang mit Rohstoffen, focusTerra, 1st ed., 22–23. Zürich: ETH Zurich. Mineralische und fossile Ressourcen sind ein endliches Gut auf unserem Planeten. Derzeit überführt unsere lineare Ökonomie diese Ressourcen meistens in Produkte, aus welchen dann Abfall entsteht, der weder mineralisch noch fossil ist. Können wir dieses Denkmuster durch ein Modell der zirkulierenden Ökonomie ersetzen? Oder können wir uns sogar einen Paradigmenwechsel vorstellen, in dem unsere gebaute Umwelt ihre benötigten Baumaterialien unbegrenzt wachsen lässt und so Ressourcen schafft, die unendlich zur Verfügung stehen?

Clay, Arthur and Felix Heisel (2015). Augmented Increments – An Interview with Felix Heisel, in On Science On Art On Society – Interviews with Innovators, eds. Arthur Clay, Monika Rut, and Timothy J. Senior, 76–79. DAW International.

El khouli, Sebastian (2015). Vermeiden, Vermindern, Verwerten, TEC21, 26-27 (Material II: Elementares Bauen). The reduction of waste starts with design and consumption. The examples in this issue show manifold and pragmatic approaches on how to avoid a throw-away mentality in architecture. The book and exhibition ‘Building from Waste’ sets the theoretical background for the discussed projects.

Gould, Hannah (2015). Three Ways We Will Build the Cities of the Future from Waste, The Guardian (online). As the global population grows, it is also becoming more city-based with 70% expected to live in urban areas by 2050. It is a trend that has not escaped sci-fi in Hollywood, which reimagines the city of the future again and again, but there are those trying to bring sustainable cities to life in reality. Truly sustainable cities of the future will not differentiate between waste and resource. Rather, they will understand waste as the starting point for something new. Read the full100

Senthilingam, Meera (2015). 5 ideas every city should steal from Singapore, CNN.com Singapore is small, hot and heavily populated but also among the most liveable and economically successful cities in the word. How have they done it? Hebel’s team recently exhibited the possibilities of waste recycling during the 2015 New York City Ideas Festival. They built an arched canopy pavilion comprised of waterproof panels made from discarded beverage containers. “There are things surrounding us that can be used in a secondary life as a building structure.” Read the whole article here.

McKnight, Jenna (2015). ETH Zurich designers create arched pavilion out of upcycled beverage cartons, DEZEEN Architectural Magazine Architects and engineers from ETH Zurich university used waste material to create a vaulted pavilion for New York City’s Ideas Festival. The ETH Future Pavilion was designed to demonstrate how trash can be transformed into a viable building material. The temporary structure was constructed within a narrow park that stretches between two buildings in New York’s East Village. Read more here.

Pestalozzi, Manuel (2015). Müll schafft Möglichkeiten, Bau & Architektur: 14–15. Based on their research at the ETH Zürich and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, authors Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel offer in their recent publication ‘Building from Waste’ a conceptual and practical view on the possibilities of construction with a so far untapped resource.