How do you teach architecture and construction in the first year of study, and how do you utilize the prior experience and diverse potential of aspiring architects? Annette Spiro, an architect and ETH professor, has engaged with these questions intensively over many years. As a dedicated teacher, it has been her goal to introduce students to the discipline with both expert knowledge and her own great curiosity. Spiro aims to ignite in them the passion and joy for their own, good projects. The book explores in six volumes the various aspects and influences that affect students' designs in their first year. The lectures are just as essential as the semester projects and the personal environment of the students, who share their thoughts on their studies in interviews.