Provided since 2020 by the Braillard Architects Foundation in Geneva, the Transition Workshop certification course is aimed at architects, urban planners, landscape architects, as well as professionals involved in the design and development of cities and territories. The Transition Workshop explores the challenges and methods of ecological transition through an innovative approach based on space-time sequences.

Since its launch, and thanks to the mentorship of 30 experts, the Transition Workshop has brought together more than 100 participants from various backgrounds, eager to deepen their knowledge and strengthen their skills in decarbonization and resilience of the built environment. 

The applications selection is made by the Scientific Council of the Eco-Century Project®, the framework program of the FBA (see submission and selection dates).

The themes and topics covered so far were: 

• 2023 | Ecological densities: prospective visions for the south façade of Geneva International Airport | Municipalities of Meyrin, Vernier and Grand-Saconnex. Designe “the city on the city” through transition strategies combining urban forms, reuse and bio-based materials, green belts, renewable energies, alternative mobility, shared facilities and urban agriculture. 
• 2022 | City & Nature: the Genevan city-landscape, another way of cultivating the land | Perly-Certoux Revisiting the Geneva countryside for a moderate densification, focusing on the protection of landscapes and local agriculture, without forgetting biodiversity, soft mobility and social participation.
• 2021 | Post-oil city: what future for Vernier's tanks? | Vernier 
  Exiting the fossil-fuel era by converting its infrastructure, in favour of post-carbon, eco-responsible and exemplary Geneva.
• 2020 | Transitional urban housing: the Marronniers district, between rehabilitation and innovation | Grand-Saconnex. 
  Setting the pace for the development of residential neighbourhoods, by strengthening the ecological qualities of the site, conserving its grey energy, building with carbon-free materials, introducing soft mobility and citizen engagement.

Program

The Transition Workshop is organized in two complementary modules:

• The Theory Masterclass:
  four thematic sessions for a total of 80 hours, from February to June 2025. It offers an interdisciplinary approach to the challenges and methods of the ecological transition of cities and regions. Provided by 30 experts with different backgrounds, this online training is spread over several months at a rate of two and a half days per month. This module takes place at the FBA's premises in Geneva and can be followed on site and online (see conditions). 
• The Design Workshop:
  two intensive weeks at the beginning of July 2025, with a focus on a specific case study of the Geneva region, in cooperation with the Office of Urban Planning, (Canton of Geneva). During these two weeks, participants delve into specific ways of reinventing the possible, probable and desirable evolution of a territory in transition, amidst the actual and upcoming climatic constraints.

The teamwork results carried out during the Design Studio will be the subject of a day of public presentations at the Geneva Seminar in Autumn 2025. These results will also constitute a Recommendations Brochure presented to the Canton of Geneva and published by the Braillard Architects Foundation.

Two information webinars will take place on Tuesday, July 9 and Thursday, September 19, 2024, 12 p.m.–2 p.m.

For more information:

www.transitionworkshop.ch