ETH News

The coloured Cube has been around for 50 years. Its inventor, Ernő Rubik, celebrated his 80th birthday this year. At the invitation of the ETH Department of Mathematics, he spent some time in Zurich to discuss the fascination of the Rubik’s Cube with researchers, students and children.

For many people, architectural norms create barriers to accessibility. How might we re-imagine our built environment to make it more inclusive?

Mariam Issoufou is one of Africa’s most sought-after architects. She has held the position of Professor of Architecture Heritage and Sustainability at ETH Zurich since 2022.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a fast, robot-assisted printing process for earth materials that does not require cement.

The Gloria Cube is ETH Zurich’s newest building in the Zurich City university district. Teaching, research and translation are all carried out in the service of health and medicine here. At the end of last week, ETH Zurich celebrated the laboratory and research building’s inauguration.

Artist Rosa Barba is constantly seeking new perspectives. At ETH, she works to bring art together with architecture, science and engineering.

At ETH Zurich, there is a room where the sun shines at the touch of a button; one hour it’s noon in the Sahara, the next it’s January in Berlin. Researchers use it to test newly developed building systems, components and materials.

Two years ago, Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine. One direct consequence of the conflict is the destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Now an exhibition in the ETH Main Building entitled “ETH with Ukraine” is showing how buildings, facilities and the environment in Ukraine can be protected or restored.

Irma Radončić and Stefan Liniger are developing resource-friendly fabrication methods, which the two architects aim to employ in the creation of better and better concert spaces.

A doctoral researcher studying architecture at ETH Zurich is using 3D printing to produce lightweight insulation building components from cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste. These could cut heating and cooling costs for buildings, and encourage more efficient use of construction materials.

ETH is offering a new continuing education programme in the serviceability and repairability of buildings and products. The CAS is backed by an architect, a product developer and a production technologist.

Günther Vogt is one of the most sought-after landscape architects of our time. He has opened the eyes of an entire generation of architects to public space. After 18 years as an ETH professor, he is now retiring.

In a practical teaching project, ETH students used materials from the demolished Huber Pavilions to construct a building in the spirit of the circular economy. The Re-Use Pavilion on the ETH Hönggerberg campus has now been honoured with an Arc Award.

Karin Sander, ETH Zurich Professor of Architecture and Art, and Philip Ursprung, ETH Zurich Professor of the History of Art and Architecture, are curating the Swiss pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Their exhibition is called “Neighbours” and it explores the Swiss pavilion’s architectural relationship with the Venezuelan pavilion next door.

Solar façade panels developed by the group working under ETH Professor Arno Schlüter follow the sun’s position in the sky and in this way harvest more energy. The technology has now been awarded the Watt D’Or Energy Prize.

Maria Conen advocates the conservation and reuse of existing buildings – and not just for reasons of sustainability.

The creaking of the shimmering Morteratsch Glacier, the rumbling of ash-coloured dams and the steady sloshing of water in grey-blue Zurich reservoirs... In the “Serendipity” seminar series of Chair of Landscape Architecture Christophe Girot, researchers and students leave the seminar room to explore how places sound and how they can be explored by ear. They do this using no more than a microphone and an analogue camera.

Autonomous virtual humans that move and behave naturally are Siyu Tang’s vision. One area from which the computer scientist draws inspiration are our behavioural patterns. Collaboration with architects and surgeons provides further input – and it also reveals the enormous potential of virtual people.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder – yet how do we find consensus on a shared amenity such as a neighbourhood? We took a stroll with two ETH architects to discover how they see their role as mediators between the conflicting priorities of urban consolidation, functionalism and aesthetics.

An exhibition in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, features ETH Zurich architects who show their vision of utopia - a vertical city built by drones, developed in 2012. Along with computer scientists, they have now populated the structure with autonomous avatars.

After 15 years as Professor of Architecture and Construction, Annette Spiro recently retired to become professor emerita. Her lectures and publications inspired a whole generation of architecture students at ETH Zurich.

Catherine De Wolf firmly believes that digitalisation can help shift the construction industry towards a more circular economy. The assistant professor and her research group recently completed a hands-on project to illustrate how this could work.  

Momoyo Kaijima, Professor of Architectural Behaviorology at ETH Zurich, and her partner Yoshiharu Tsukamoto have been honoured with this year’s Wolf Prize for their ethnographically inspired approach to architecture. According to the jury, the work produced by their studio, Atelier Bow-Wow, is characterised by a great sensitivity towards local contexts and the social impact of architecture.

"Where the future begins" is the name of ETH Zurich's new image film. Based on six projects, it provides a look behind the scenes and highlights how ETH Zurich is tackling the big questions. The new film was produced by Seed, the same agency that realised the successful ETH trailer "Ready?" five years ago.

With the help of artificial intelligence and four collaborative robots, researchers at ETH Zurich are designing and fabricating a 22.5-metre-tall green architectural sculpture.

Boasting an intricate, doubly curved concrete roof, lightweight funicular floors, and self-learning building technology, the latest addition to Empa and Eawag's NEST research building in Duebendorf, Switzerland officially opened today. The innovative unit illustrates nearly a decade of formative ETH Zurich research in architecture and sustainable technologies.

ETH fellow Marianna Charitonidou examines the influence of social changes on architecture. She cites the experience of viewing the urban landscape while driving a car as an example.

3D printing can be used to build load-bearing concrete structures that require significantly less material and no steel reinforcement or mortar. ETH architects and engineers from the Block Research Group in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects and other partners from industry showed how this works with a footbridge in Venice.

The 23-metre-high tower made of 3D-printed columns is to become a cultural site in Mulegns, a village on the Julier Pass with just 16 inhabitants. The structure is being planned by ETH architects and engineers. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2022 with robots printing the tower’s components on site.

ETH Zurich is launching a new Centre for Augmented Computational Design in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, known as Design++. 22 professorships from multiple departments are joining forces to develop digitally augmented design tools with a view to improving the efficiency and sustainability of construction.

ETH Professor Emeritus Anne Lacaton and her partner Jean-Philippe Vassal have received this year’s Pritzker Prize for their social and sustainable architecture. The prize is regarded as the Nobel Prize of the architecture world. ETH celebrated this success on Wednesday with a virtual event of honour, which was attended by ETH President Joël Mesot as well as the two prize winners.

Anne Lacaton, Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich, and her partner Jean-Philippe Vassal have received the most prestigious international architecture prize for their sustainable and social approach to building design.

Students at ETH Zurich used innovative technology to create an extremely lightweight and filigree pavilion using bamboo. The project demonstrates the possibilities of digital fabrication combined with natural construction materials.

Researcher, lecturer, Executive Board member, and the first global ambassador for ETH: Gerhard Schmitt wore many hats during his time at ETH. Schmitt has now retired from his post of Professor of Information Architecture. Here we take a look back at his eventful career.

Together with industry partners, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed new construction methods for building a doubly curved concrete roof. Now it is complete and under the open sky for the first time.

ETH students should have opportunities to realise their ideas. To meet this need, ETH Zurich is building a new centre for student initiatives and entrepreneurial talent at its Hönggerberg campus. The winner of the architectural competition is the EQUILIBRES project designed by ARGE Buchner Bründler Planer / Rapp Architekten.

ETH has once again been highly successful in the awarding of this year’s ERC Starting Grants for young researchers, with the European Research Council (ERC) approving a total of CHF 21.4 million in funding for 12 ETH project submissions.

What happens when COVID-19 means architecture students have to get by without a workshop, electrical engineers without high-voltage laboratories and environmental scientists without field trips.

ETH Zurich aims to step up rehabilitation research and education with the Rehab Initiative. But how are the needs of people with disabilities best met? To discuss the issues, we hosted a roundtable with a physician, a person with a disability and a researcher.

The year 2019 has certainly been a busy one at ETH. A new president took office and the second Sci-Tech Oscar was awarded, along with other major prizes, but there were also plenty of inventions and topics for discussion.

Today’s new buildings could easily last until 2050 and beyond. That's why we now need binding climate targets in the construction sector, argues Guillaume Habert. 

For her doctoral thesis at ETH Zurich, Mariana Popescu developed a novel method to create a low-cost, lightweight and more sustainable formwork system for concrete structures. Her method using machine-knitted technical textiles has led to the young architect being included in the prestigious global list of “Innovators under 35”.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and the University of Stuttgart have developed a new technique involving a controlled drying process that makes wooden panels bend into a pre-set shape without the use of any mechanical force. 

At the sixth Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit, experts from the research community and higher education explored and reflected on how digitalisation is changing higher education and on nurturing of talent. ETH Zurich hosted the conference.

In the second round of ETH+, the Executive Board’s funding instrument for new research ideas and exchange between disciplines and departments, five new initiatives were selected. These address a range of topics, from living materials to quantum science.

A solar façade developed at ETH Zurich combines electricity production with intelligent shading to achieve optimal energy balance.

Architect and ETH Professor Elli Mosayebi is developing new forms of housing. Over the course of one year, she’s testing a small home with a flexible floor plan on ETH’s Hönggerberg campus.

Notre Dame should not be rebuilt, argue Guillaume Habert and Alice Hertzog. In times of climate change and in light of the current religious landscape its reconstruction is no longer a priority.

ETH spin-off Archilyse promises nothing less than the “world’s most comprehensive architecture analysis” on its website. The young entrepreneurs are attracting a lot of interest in the real estate sector.

ETH alumna Xi Zhang did her Bachelor's degree in Architecture in Shanghai, and her Master's degree in Zurich at ETH. Today, she still works in both places: She runs an international architectural firm.

DFAB HOUSE has officially opened today on the NEST building of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf. It is the world's first inhabited "house" that was not only digitally planned, but also – with the help of robots and 3D printers – built largely digitally. The construction technologies were developed by ETH Zurich researchers in collaboration with industrial partners.

The first architectural projects for Zurich’s central university district have been revealed: The designs for the "USZ Kernareal" come from Christ & Gantenbein, those for the FORUM UZH from Herzog & de Meuron.

ETH technology that flew to Mars, rubber duckies that travelled around Duckietown in self-driving taxis and moles that warn of tumours – for ETH, 2018 was marked by innovative flair and extraordinary research. We take a look back.

Concern over the influence of machine learning in architecture is exaggerated, argues Adam Jasper. The challenge is not to oppose quantification, but to take charge of what is quantified.

With just the press of a button, ETH researchers knit a textile that serves as the primary shaping element for curved concrete shells. Now they have used the new technology to create a five-tonne concrete structure for an exhibition in Mexico City.

A construction robot has created a pavilion using nothing more than loose stones and string. Resear­chers of ETH Zurich are showing their work as part of an exhibition at the Gewerbemuseum in Winterthur.

At the Architecture Biennial in Venice, a group of students, a colour artist, an architect and an ETH surface physicist will examine the symmetries of ornaments at the Basilica di San Marco. There will be an accompanying exhibition.

Kees Christiaanse is one of the most renowned urban planners. After 15 years as a professor at ETH Zurich, he is retiring from teaching duties this summer, and will be made an emeritus professor. But not much will change as a result, he says. Even after stepping down from ETH, he intends to continue pursuing his global vision of an open city.

Designed on a computer and built with the help of robots: ETH students studying for the MAS in Architecture and Digital Fabrication have built a wooden pergola to turn the sun-baked terrace at the Istituto Svizzero in Rome into a pleasant, shady spot. Their project demonstrates the potential that digital fabrication holds for wooden buildings.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have fabricated an 80 m2 lightweight concrete slab at the DFAB House, making it the world’s first full-scale architectural project to use 3D sand printing for its formwork.

ETH Zurich archives cultural assets and makes them available to the public. At the same time, it makes an impact on Swiss culture like almost no other institution.  

Students from the Institute of Landscape Architecture are planning some natural ways to cool the heat-afflicted metropolis of Singapore. Their testing ground is a disused railway line reclaimed by nature and converted into a tropical recreation area.

Extraordinary and economical: civil engineer and architect Philippe Block develops novel ways of building for the architecture of tomorrow. He has now been awarded the Rössler Prize for his work.

The National Centre of Competence in Research in Digital Fabrication was launched four years ago. A new video presents the highlights of the first funding phase.

Last Saturday, the 16th International Architecture Biennale in Venice opened with a great success for ETH participants. The Swiss Pavilion, designed by a team of four young ETH architects, received the Golden Lion.

The 16th International Architecture Exhibition (Biennale) in Venice gets underway on Saturday. A number of architects associated with ETH submitted contributions to the Biennale, including the four next-generation academics who designed the Swiss pavilion. Alessandro Bosshard and Matthew van der Ploeg offer insights into their project ‘Svizzera 240: House Tour’.

Researchers from ETH Zurich are using a new method for digital timber construction in a real project for the first time. The load-bearing timber modules, which are prefabricated by robots, will be assembled on the top two floors at the DFAB HOUSE construction site.

Even when studying to be an architect, designing attractive buildings wasn’t satisfying enough for Estefania Tapias. Today she is an expert in urbanisation and climate change, specialising in the research of outdoor thermal comfort.

Cities both drive climate change and suffer its effects. As havens of innovation, however, they also have the ability to change. The ETH Klimarunde invites residents to discuss challenges and solutions for cities experiencing climate change.

Earth is an ideal building material: it’s low-cost, saves resources and regulates indoor climates. What's more, earth is readily available in the places where people build. Yet the construction potential of earth remains undervalued.

Researchers from ETH Zurich have built a prototype of an ultra-thin, curved concrete roof using innovative digital design and fabrication methods. The tested novel formwork system will be used in an actual construction project for the first time next year.

At the Empa and Eawag NEST building in Dübendorf, eight ETH Zurich professors are collaborating with business partners to build the three-storey DFAB HOUSE. It is the first house in the world to be designed, planned and built using predominantly digital processes.

Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani hasn't just written definitive reference works on urban planning and shaped a generation of ETH architects; he has also run numerous projects of his own. Now, the charismatic Chair for the History of Urban Design is about to retire.  

Researchers at ETH Zurich’s Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) have developed a concrete floor system that does not require steel reinforcement and is 70 percent lighter than conventional concrete floors. Their design was inspired by historical construction principles.

The Arch_Tec_Lab demonstrates how digitisation can contribute to resource-efficient, compact and emissions-free construction. Six professors from ETH Zurich have pooled their research approaches and developed a prototype of the innovative building together.

Thirty architecture students from ETH Zurich’s Studio Tom Emerson have made their first venture into a large-scale project. After ten months of intensive work, the Pavilion of Reflections is ready on time for the opening of the Manifesta 11 European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Zurich.

ETH Zurich will present a whole range of projects at this year’s International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. At the invitation of curator Alejandro Aravena, several project groups in which ETH is involved will present their contributions in the main exhibition, exhibit at national pavilions and play an active role in the supporting programme.

It is not too often that Cairo’s informal settlements are hosted at an international architecture event, especially not as a positive case. This year, the “informal” area of Ard-El-Lewa is prominently featured at the Bi-City Biennale for Urban Development and Architecture in Shenzhen, in the Radical Urbanism section.

Urbanisation is transforming the world. In an interview with Marcel Meili, ETH Professor of Architecture and Design, and Christian Schmid, Deputy Head of Network City and Landscape, the two explain why cities around the world are expanding and what is special about the urban landscape in Switzerland.

The recent completion of construction, and first month of successful operation of the 3for2@UWCSEA demonstration project by ETH Zurich turns the page in developing what could be Singapore’s most energy-efficient office by 2018.

The rate of urbanisation in recent years has been astonishing. While present cities are highly unsustainable, they offer great opportunities for using resources more efficiently. The rapid growth and the huge environmental challenges account for the growing interest shown by universities in cities: the New Urban Science.

The Zukunftsblog editors wish all our readers happy holidays and all the best for 2016. If you are looking for some inspiring reading material for the holidays, here you can find a selection from the Zukunftsblog archive. We’ll be back with fresh food for thought on 5 January. Enjoy!

The Zurich City University District should be developed into a knowledge and health care cluster. For their master's theses in the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich students developed scenarios outlining what an urban campus in the heart of the city of Zurich could look like.

A clearer separation from the street and traffic-restricted atria: the plans for ETH’s new forecourt. The renovation is planned from 2018–2019; the building will remain open for business as usual.

The Biennale for Urban Development and Architecture in Shenzhen opened on 4 December 2015. Two architecture professors from ETH Zurich are co-curators, and the university is making several contributions to the exhibition. In addition, ETH students are working on new projects with colleagues from China, at a temporary school being established for that purpose.

Deserts are among the roughest places to live on earth. Fauna and flora in the desert develop special adaptations to survive in such a harsh environment. So do humans. Our Landscape Modeling and Visualizing Studio investigated future scenarios for water-restrained settlements in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

On 2^nd June 2015, ETH Zurich House of Natural Resources (HoNR) opened in ETH Hönggerberg Campus. The event highlights not only the inauguration of a new building but the showcase of a new milestone in sustainable construction.

Today, building envelopes tend to be static and unable to adapt to changing conditions. Now, for the first time, an adaptable façade has been used for the newly inaugurated House of Natural Resources (HoNR) that produces electricity and regulates light and heat generation.

The House of Natural Resources (HoNR) is a flagship project for a hardwood building. Today marked the inauguration of the office building on ETH’s Hönggerberg campus after 18 months of construction. It is an exciting development for researchers at ETH Zurich as the building will serve as a research laboratory for sustainable construction.

For the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York at the end of May, ETH Zurich is constructing a 90 m2 pavilion made from recycled beverage packaging. The project, led by ETH Global and Professor Dirk E. Hebel and Professor Philippe Block, aims to show the immense potential of waste for the construction sector.

In Asia and Africa, rapid urbanisation has seen human populations move to cities on an unprecedented scale. Increasingly, the inability to settle these new urban dwellers into formal housing, and the inability to engage them economically and socially is bringing about serious urban issues.

The "Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism / Architecture Shenzhen" is the largest of its kind. This year, the ETH professors of architecture Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner are part of the four-person curatorial team. An interview with the two co-curators.

Teaching at ETH Zurich is breaking new ground: in one teaching project, students are solving real tasks – and those tasks are set by businesses, not by the university. Another project looks at how lively debate can help participants to develop solid arguments.

Teaching at ETH Zurich is breaking new ground: in one teaching project, students are solving real tasks – and those tasks are set by businesses, not by the university. Another project looks at how lively debate can help participants to develop solid arguments.

Urbanization, the general shift from rural to urban living, causes the rapid growth of cities and represents one of the key challenges facing our society. Many epicenters of urbanization are in tropical regions, making the climatic context a central challenge for sustainable construction design.

The Federal Council is pushing ahead with the Swiss Innovation Park: it intends to make 350 million francs available and give the operators land with planning permission. ETH Zurich has been supporting the project for over ten years.

Digital technologies have already turned many areas of the economy inside out. Construction is the next sector set to undergo a change: more efficient processes, new materials and more varied houses are the objective.

The Master of Advanced Studies ETH in Architecture and Digital Fabrication is a new continuing education programme initiated by the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication and ETH Zurich. From September, students from all over the world will be able to study innovative methods of construction and design.

The gta exhibition ‘Architecture for Children: Zurich’s Playgrounds’ presents the history of the playground in Zurich since 1950. A treasure trove of photos, films, slideshows and plans are on display, along with examples of how children would design a playground today if they had the opportunity.

gta exhibitions is opening the new season with various projects. One of them is “Atlas”, a project by Tom Emerson, professor of architecture and construction.