AEROPOLITICS
Aeropolitics
Aeroplanning will fill a research gap by examining the Aerial Spatial Revolution in terms of the architectural
scale concerned, which has encountered rather fragmentary and disjointed research so far, although the promise of flight
and the fascination for its elevated and expansive view are acknowledged as driving force of modern architects and their
imagination par excellence. By scrutinising this nexus on the basis of the design practice, statements and (built) works of
architects, the research will be able to provide new insights into the impact of aviation and the conquest of the third
dimension in architecture with a coherent study. Axis B will also provide a new foundation in terms of urban design, to
which has been given more consideration regarding the new spatial and perceptual dimensions introduced by aviation.
On the one hand, it will deliver new knowledge on the medial, iconographic and instrumental character of aerial images
by analysing the conditions of their production, dissemination, reception and use in planning practice. Using thereby the
example of the flight and aerial photography pioneer Walter Mittelholzer, it will also offer a new perspective on urban
transformation and industrialisation processes in Switzerland in the first half of the 20th century and their aftermath to
the present day. On the other hand, the research will integrate the discourse on the role of aerial photography in urban
planning in its pioneering phase for the first time in a comprehensive study, based on a broad corpus of source material.
Prof. Matteo Vegetti (USI/SUPSI)
Principal investigator
Matteo Vegetti (PI) is professor of Theories of Space and Living at the Southern University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Mendrisio (SUPSI-DACD), lecturer at the Academy of Architecture of Mendrisio (AAM-USI) and a member of
the Master’s programme in geopolitics and global security at the University La Sapienza in Rome. With his expertise in political philosophy and geopolitics he will concentrate on aspects related to the political and social significance of the Aerial Spatial Revolution on a material and imaginary level
Tommaso Morawski (SUPSI)
Post-doc
Lucrezia Pozzi (USI/SUPSI)
Ph.D. Studen