Johan Wijesinghe
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Architecture in Large Quantities
Zurich SwitzerlandArchitecture in Large Quantities
At ETH Zurich’s Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA), I co-led the visiting studio Architecture in Large Quantities with Gilles Retsin, in collaboration with the Chair of Building Construction (BUK). Over two semesters, I worked with 54 students to explore how architecture could move beyond one-off buildings toward repeatable systems for sustainable timber housing.For most of history, cities grew through repetition—patterns, typologies, and variations that together created richness. In contrast, today’s profession often celebrates the unique, one-off design, which makes repeating “good architecture” rare. Yet under the pressures of a global housing crisis and climate emergency, the question of building at scale has returned. How can we design homes that are fast to produce, sustainable to build, and still inspiring to live in?
The studio asked students to think like inventors of “housing factories.” Each group developed a construction system capable of producing thousands of homes for Zurich and Los Angeles. The central provocation was simple: If this building were repeated a thousand times, would it still be good?
The semester unfolded in two phases. First, students designed detailed timber systems—joints, panels, and modules—demonstrated through physical models and axonometric drawings. Then, using AI-driven workflows and parametric tools like Rhino/Grasshopper, they scaled these systems across more than 40 sites in Zurich and Los Angeles. Students reflected critically on what their systems could and could not do, and what it means for architecture when design becomes a question of steering automated processes rather than producing isolated objects.
As co-instructor, I managed a team of three assistants and guided each cohort of 54 students over two semsters. I developed the digital infrastructure of the studio, creating workflows where sketches and AI-generated forms could become modular, buildable timber systems. This approach encouraged students to work between manual intuition and automation, building feedback loops rather than relying on pure optimization. We emphasized nudging over selecting—showing that human creativity still guides even the most automated design.
The outcomes combined depth and scale: factory-produced timber construction systems tested in detail, and automated housing models deployed across dozens of real sites. More than an academic exercise, the studio opened up the question of how AI, sustainable materials, and creativity together might reframe the future of housing.
Cristiano Teixeira, Gilles Retsin, Johan Wijesinghe, Wenqian Yang
Student Assistants:
Penelope Croset, Eric Gozzi
Contributors:
Jennifer Bohnner, Marianne Burkhalter, Mollie Claypool, Sophie Collier, Timothy Cooke, Elisabetta Fedele, Jonathan Heppner, Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler, Debora Mesa Molina, Sille Pihlak, Casey Rehm, Kevin Saey, Anton Savov, Amin Taha, Ramon Weber
Luca Allemann, Kevin Bellwalder, Lara Becks, Adrien Bressan, Lancelot Bruwell, M. Alexandra Crum, Lorenzo Cruz, Samuel Dafflon, Alessio Destefani, Constantin Dirler, Manuel Eichenberger, Lucas Fischötter, Selina Frauenfelder, Alexandre Galiotto, Romeo-Noah Geiger, Silvio Gonçalves, Rebecca Grace, Pauline Gähwiler, Jérémie Guyot, Albert Hatt, Johannes Hoppensack, José Häni, Anaïs Hunziker, Elif Isikli, Lea Jenzer, Jonas Schmidt, Lina Karim, Basil Kretz, John Leyel, Moira Martínez-Avial, Janina Pasinelli, Clara Paulen, Carl Petersen, Timon Rajmon, Andreas Regli, Chris Reisinger, Lucas Rodriguez, Jonas Schmid, Robin Schärer, Nico Simone, Dominik Stoll, Timon Stettler, Dominik Tassera, Alexander Thöny, Chloé Tournelle, Leon Trommer, Gion Tschümperlin, Eric Wolfensberger, Bo Yang, Joris Weiss, Li Zeming