ALPINESTUDIO:
CO-CREATING CLIMATE-RESILIENT CITIES.
Alpinestudio is part of a long-standing academic partnership between the University of Innsbruck and the University of Texas at Arlington that goes back to 1989. Since 2016, the program has been led by Oswald Jenewein, who developed Alpinestudio as a global campus co-creating climate-resilient futures.
Alpinestudio courses focus on the relationship between climate, architecture, and urbanism, treating environmental forces not as constraints but as the structure through which the city, its architecture, and urban landscape come into being. Landscape is approached as a form of operative infrastructure that shapes and supports the spatial, ecological, and cultural logic of the city.
The program offers three courses. The Design Studio develops context-based architectural and urban interventions. Future Cities explores climate resilience at the urban scale. Adaptive Typologies rethinks building types as active components of the urban ecosystem.
This academic platform is complemented by public programs and partnerships that expand its reach and impact. The Building Futures event series, funded by the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, brings together experts, students, and community members to discuss the future of climate-resilient design.
Workshops such as the Prompt-a-thon explore emerging technologies and participatory approaches. The Alpine Bootcamp introduces students to the terrain and context through intensive fieldwork. Collaborations with the City of Innsbruck and its planning department allow students to engage directly with local challenges, informing design proposals through dialogue with practitioners and residents.
The Global Campus
of UT Arlington & LFU Innsbruck.
Alpinestudio is the global campus of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the University of Innsbruck (LFU), offering a collaborative, cross-listed academic program in architecture and urbanism.
[Urban] Climate Conditions:
Alpine Territories.
Climate sets the premise for the city. Contextual conditions form and inform the natural, cultural, and built environment over time.
In the Alpine region, the rhythms of snow and melt, the sculpting forces of wind and water, and the limits of altitude have long shaped how and where urban life unfolds. As glaciers retreat, seasons shift, and weather extremes intensify, the city is no longer placed in a landscape but embedded within a dynamic climate system that demands adaptation and design intelligence.