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PEOPLE@HES-SO – Directory and Skills inventory
PEOPLE@HES-SO – Directory and Skills inventory

PEOPLE@HES-SO
Directory and Skills inventory

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Curnier Sonia

Curnier Sonia

Professeure HES associée

Main skills

Théorie de l'architecture

Théorie de la ville

Espace Public

Procédures compétitives

Conception

Enfance

  • Contact

  • Teaching

  • Research

  • Publications

Main contract

Professeure HES associée

Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg
Boulevard de Pérolles 80, 1700 Fribourg, CH
HEIA-FR
BA HES-SO en Architecture - Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg
  • Théorie de l'architecture et de la ville 4
  • Théorie de l'architecture et de la ville 6
MA BFH/HES-SO en Architecture - HES-SO Master
  • Profile Search
  • Introduction à la recherche
  • Cours à option - Prix SIA 2026 - Jury étudiant

Completed

Les espaces extérieurs – collectifs et publics – du logement abordable

Role: Main Applicant

Financement: Fondation privée

Description du projet :

Avec Julie Riondel

Research team within HES-SO: Curnier Sonia

Durée du projet: 01.01.2025 - 30.11.2025

Statut: Completed

2025

Et ainsi naquit l'espace public en Romandie
Professional paper ArODES

Sonia Curnier

Tracés,  2025

Link to the publication

Designing spaces for a desirable common future
Book chapter ArODES

Sonia Curnier

European prize for urban public space 2024  (2 p.). 2025,  Barcelona : Centre de Cultura Contemporánia de Barcelona

Link to the publication

Summary:

Whether revamping an existing place or creating one from scratch, the design of a public space always entails the ambition of enhancing urban life and improving the wellbeing of people. All people. Indeed, if the public nature of a space is to be activated, its improvement must benefit the entire population, ensuring that no group is excluded—or, worse, displaced—in the process. In a time of growing social inequalities, exacerbated by climate change and migration, how can we—designers, policymakers and critics—aim to create more just, inclusive, and liveable cities? How can we collectively foster stronger social connections, build vibrant communities, and cultivate a sense of belonging? The projects featured in this 12th award of the Prize offer insights into these pressing questions, reflecting the current state of practice across Europe and sparking important reflections on the future of urban transformation.

Connect & correlate
Book chapter ArODES

Anaïs Leger-Smith, Sonia Curnier

Dans Curnier, Sonia, Diedrich, Lisa, Leger-Smith, Anaïs, Moll, Claudia, Landscape Architecture Europe : Full of life  (pp. 92-129). 2025,  Ede : LAE Foundation Blauwdruk

Link to the publication

Summary:

Socio-spatial fragmentation is the norm for urban landscapes worldwide, consisting of unconnected spatial bits and pieces an disparate communities. In Europe, an old city centre is easily juxtapoed with abandoned industry, a gleaming business district, densely populated skyscrapers, and agricultural land. To avoid socio-spatial polarisation, urban porosity is the basis for tolerance. The projects in this chapter aim to design spatial connections and correlate hitherto unconnected urban fragments for different user groups, such as the Voca de la Mina Promenade in Reus, Spain, and the Claypits in Glasgow, UK.

Reveal & revive
Book chapter ArODES

Sonia Curnier, Oana-Theodora Stefan

Dans Curnier, Sonia, Diedrich, Lisa, Leger-Smith, Anaïs, Moll, Claudia, Landscape Architecture Europe : Full of life  (pp. 282-309). 2025,  Ede : LAE Foundation Blauwdruk

Link to the publication

Summary:

What has existed for a long time often escapes people's attention. Old landscapes are oten lanscapes in anaesthesia. A new aesthetic gaze can reveal and revive them by first recognising their existing qualities and then transforming them rather than replacing them, renewing dysfunctional parts and outdated aspects to meet contemporary needs and create a new appreciation. The projects in this chapter have brought to light fogotten legacies, such as the Englische Anlagen in Bern, Switzerland, or umcomfortable remnants of dark times, such as the former Nazi baracks now transformed into the Park of Encounters in Heidelberg, Germany.

Invest & investigate
Book chapter ArODES

Sonia Curnier, Reda Berrada

Dans Curnier, Sonia, Diedrich, Lisa, Leger-Smith, Anaïs, Moll, Claudia, Landscape Architecture Europe : Full of life  (pp. 130-169). 2025,  Ede : LAE Foundation Blauwdruk

Link to the publication

Summary:

A tolerant society invites the creation of special places for all kinds of people, interests, an situations - an ambitious task for landscape architecture that requires investment, i.e. money, dedicated individuals, and committed authorities. And that is not all. It also requires investigation, i.e. the search for site qualities, appropriate tools, and experimental frameworks. This chapter presents a spectrum of special projects, from the private rooftop garden Groenmarkt in the historic centre of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to the public outdoor ppol Järvabadet in the multiethnic suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden.

Designing with care and maintenance :
Book chapter ArODES
a pedagogical approach to sustainable architecture

Camille Fauvel, Nicolas Rogeau, Sonia Curnier, Nozomu Kono, Tiphaine Abenia, Bryan Ortega-Welch

Dans Hvejsel, Marie Frier, Rinke, Mario, Structures and Architecture  (9 p.). 2025,  London : CRC Press

Link to the publication

Summary:

This research introduces a new pedagogical approach to architecture that emphasizes design as an act of care and maintenance. Recent educational shifts have led to the creation of courses in Switzerland and Japan that focus on holistic, onsite, and interdisciplinary solutions. These courses challenge conventional practices by prioritizing site maintenance and social connections over mere object creation. By repeatedly engaging with the same sites through different student groups, these courses foster an incremental process where each intervention contributes to a collective evolution of the project. This approach shifts the focus from individual authorship to a shared narrative, highlighting the value of teaching architecture through making as a means to build continuity, memory, and adaptability in design practices. The paper highlights commonalities and specificities between the three courses through a cross-analysis focusing on the relation to time, the material environment, and the social environment.

Les préaux :
Professional paper ArODES
des espaces publics à réinvestir

Sonia Curnier

Tracés,  2025, 11-15

Link to the publication

Summary:

Comment allier qualité de vie urbaine et forte densité? Face à la rareté des terrains publics, certaines villes prennent les devants en ouvrant les préaux scolaires à un plus large public que celui des élèves, valorisant un réseau existant d’espaces extérieurs hautement qualitatifs, souvent sous-exploités par les habitant·es. Le projet de recherche PublicSchoolyards établit un focus sur la situation lausannoise.

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