A glance inside the new buildings
On October 12, some 50 members from across the Department of Physics used the opportunity to take a tour of the new buildings on the Hönggerberg campus.
Tour Arch_Tech_Lab, HWW- and HWO complexes
The architects managing the HWO and HWW projects, respectively, Tina Arndt and Fredi Doetsch, guided us through their buildings. These are by now completed and fully rented. Ammar Mirjan of Gramazio Kohler Research led us through the assembly hall and work area of Arch_Tech_Lab. In the large assembly hall, robotic are to build structures that otherwise would be unthinkable. The precision of the robots is so high that even wind pressures and temperature fluctuations affecting the building are reflected in the workpieces. The lucky ones doing research in the large upstairs working area and having at the same time secured one of the sought-after rooms of the residential complex next door, have only five minutes to work.
The HWW and HWO complexes have created two completely different environments for student living. The architects have given insight into the long planning phase and the considerations how to fully integrate the new buidlings into the campus. The price structure for the rooms and the energy concept have also shaped the faces of the two building complexes. In both, highly communicative structures have emerged for students living together. The two architects "architektick" and "Stücheli Architekten" have been chosen for the projects in competitions and it is exciting to see at the two distinctly different answers to a similar task.
We would like to thank the high-ranking members of the two architecture firms — who made their way to Hönggerberg specifically for the Department of Physics — as well as Services ETH and Ammar Mirjan. They have made possible guided tours that provided first-hand information.
(Text and photos: Regina Moser)