Modul Urban Design in Southeast Europe

The Module "Urban Design in Southeast Europe. On Balkan Dragons and Butterflies" examines the Balkans as a geographical, socio- cultural, and discursively constructed space. Drawing on the historical cartographic formula Hic sunt dracones ("Here be dragons"), which was used to mark unknown territories as zones on the edge of knowledge, the module investigates existing notions of European peripherality. The Balkans
are therefore understood as a space for critically reflecting spatial, societal, and ecological processes in Europe.

In the winter term 2026/27, the module focuses on the topic of rivers and waterscapes in Southeast Europe and integrates hydro-logical realities with perspectives from spatial sociology and cultural studies into the architectural research and design process. Collaborating closely with universities, civil society initiatives, and art institutions in Southeast Europe, the module establishes a symmetrical, transnational space for joint knowledge production. The results are finally documented in a digital, continuously growing atlas. As an open, process-oriented online archive, it brings together collaborative mappings, interviews, visual essays, and design works, thereby creating a lasting, collective archive for contemporary architectural research and transdisciplinary spatial practice.