MAY
2016 30

Daring Growth at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale

On May 28th, Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel opened the exhibition Daring Growth at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale in the presence of ETH president Lino Guzzella. The installation calls for a radical paradigm shift in how habitats are materialized. The mining-based mentality must move towards an ethic of cultivating, recycling, recovering, breeding, raising, farming, and even growing future building materials. Decentralized, local and renewable production strategies and methods that do not deplete the planet’s resources or energy reserves must be given priority. A shift in attitude would allow developing societies to provide themselves with the building materials required for secure100

MAY
2016 30

Exhibitions, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Forschung: Der Pilz, aus dem die Mauern sind

Paganini, Romano (2016). Forschung: Der Pilz, aus dem die Mauern sind, in: Beobachter 11/, Zürich, Switzerland An der ETH Zürich erforschen Architekten und Ingenieure das Potenzial von Pilzen. Sie sollen einst Plastik ersetzen. Die Prototypen sehen aus wie hellbraune Backsteine und riechen nach Grosis Estrich. Doch sie könnten das Industriematerial der Zukunft sein. «Es ist ein extrem vielversprechendes Material, dessen Potenzial wir noch gar nicht richtig abschätzen können», sagt ETH-Architekt Felix Heisel schwärmend. Read full article here.

MAY
2016 30

Exhibitions, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Dirk E. Hebel: «Architektur ist eine Lebensphilosophie»

Ettlin, Anna (2016). Dirk E. Hebel: «Architektur ist eine Lebensphilosophie», in: coop Zeitung, 23.05.2015, Zürich, Switzerland Dirk E. Hebel forscht über Baumaterialien der nächsten Generation. Sind Bambus, Pilze und Müll eine Alternative, wenn Stahl und Beton knapp werden? Er beschäftigt sich mit der Stadt der Zukunft, als Assistenzprofessor an der ETH Zürich und am Future Cities Laboratory in Singapur. Bekannt wurde Dirk E. Hebel (45) vor allem durch seine Arbeiten mit ungewöhnlichen Baumaterialien, die demnächst an der Architektur-Biennale in Venedig präsentiert werden. Wir müssen im 21. Jahrhundert zwei grosse Fragen beantworten: die Frage nach der Energie und die Frage nach den100

MAY
2016 13

Events, Exhibitions

Venice Biennale: GAA Foundation and PLANE-SITE create video interviews with architects for the Venice Biennale – Dirk Hebel advocates for architectural research and sustainable building materials at archdaily.com

The Global Arts Affairs Foundation (GAA), in collaboration with PLANE—SITE, is releasing a series of video interviews with architects to be shown as part of the TIME SPACE EXISTENCE Exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. Dirk Hebel (Switzerland) advocates for architectural research and sustainable building materials. The videos, each approximately five minutes, mix theoretical and philosophical concerns with personal trajectories of the architects, yielding discussions on where architecture has been and where it is going. According to the organizers, the interviews as a whole “[are meant to] offer a discursive response to Alejandro Aravena’s theme for the 2016 Architecture Biennale, Reporting from the Front.” The project will be on view at the Palazzo100

MAY
2016 13

Events, Exhibitions

Venice Biennale: Time Space Existence – Architect Dirk Hebel on Designing for Disassembly and Cultivated Materials at architizer.com

“We define our profession as architects as a combination between design and research,” says Dirk Hebel of ETH Zürich, a university specializing in engineering, science, technology and mathematics in the heart of Switzerland. The architect was interviewed by architectural movie makers PLANE–SITE as part of the “Time Space Existence” collateral exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia 2016, opening up a fascinating debate over the presumed permanence of architecture and challenging all our preconceptions about the life-cycle of buildings. Read more here.

MAY
2016 10

Exhibitions

Professorship Dirk E. Hebel at the Venice Biennale

The Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel is exhibiting a view into the laboratory entitled “Daring Growth” at this year’s Venice Biennale. As part of the official collateral event TIME-SPACE-EXISTENCE, curated by the Global Art Affairs (GAA) Foundation at the Palazzo Mora, the exhibition will report from the front of research on the potential of cultivated materials for the building industry. Everyone is welcome to join the opening party on 26th and 27th May, 6 to 10pm at the Palazzo Mora.

MAY
2016 09

Exhibitions, MEDIA COVERAGE, RESEARCH

Venice Biennale: Dirk Hebel on Cultivating Materials at world-architects.com

The first installment in an interview series that explores the philosophical concerns of architects exhibiting at “TIME – SPACE – EXISTENCE,” a collateral event at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, features Dirk Hebel of ETH Zürich. World-Architects first became aware of the materials research that Hebel and his ETH colleagues having been undertaking when we visited a pavilion he designed for the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York City last year. Made from shredded beverage cartons pressed into wallboards, the striking pavilion featured arched structures resting on wood pallets. That project is visible in this four-minute interview with Hebel, who discusses the broader100

NOV
2015 25

Exhibitions

Waste Vault exhibited at Bauarena Volketswil

Selected exhibition pieces of the architektur0.15 Werkschau are on display at the Bauarena Volketswil from November 2015 until 15th January 2016, including the New York Waste Vault by the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel and the Block Research Group. A public tour will be held on December 8th at 6:30 pm where the project authors will be present and explain their designs to interested visitors. For further information, please visit www.bauarena.ch

OCT
2015 27

Exhibitions

New York Waste Material Pavilion at architektur_0.15

The Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel and the Block Research Group Prof. Philippe Block are exhibiting the New York Waste Material Pavilion which was designed for the 2015 IDEAS CITY FESTIVAL in NYC at the architektur_0.15 exhibition in Zürich from 31. October to 03. November. From the curator: “Are Swiss architects only capable of designing boring buildings?” asked Felix E. Müller, editor-in-chief of the NZZ AM SONNTAG newspaper in his lead article, and went on: “The building boom is plowing up our towns. Unfortunately, the new buildings all look the same. There is no spark of100

MAY
2015 28

Events, Exhibitions, LECTURES, WASTE

Building from Waste: swissnex San Francisco highlights

In April 2015 swissnex San Francisco together with Chair of Architecture and Construction at ETH Zurich organized a one week event called ‘Building From Waste’. During this time everyone interested in the issues of rethinking the use of waste could participate in a series of presentations, a panel discussion, a hands-on workshop and an exhibition.

MAR
2015 24

Exhibitions, LECTURES, WASTE

Waste not: Exploring Alternative Building Materials

Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel will be leading several events from 21st – 25th of April at Swissnex San Fransisco in order to promote the recent publication “Building from Waste” in the United States. For detailed information on the events please see here and register your attendance through the swissnex website: 21.04.2015 – 6:30 pm: Lecture Series “Waste Not” with Philip Ross, Thom Faulders, Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel 21.04. – 25.04.2015: “Building from Waste” Exhibit with 25 construction products made from refuse 25.04.2015 – 9:00 am: Constructing Waste: Upcycling and Rethinking Trash Workshop with Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix100

FEB
2015 01

Exhibitions

Fall Semester 2014 – 5.000 housing units for Addis Ababa

[slideshow_deploy id=’3126′] In the fall 2014, the design studio of the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel focused on the development of 5.000 social housing units in Ethiopia`s capital Addis Ababa. The professorship partnered up with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), which was commissioned by the Addis Ababa City Administration with this task. Units for no- and low-income families, which are being displaced due to on-going redevelopment strategies, shall be constructed within the inner-city context based on the students’ design proposals. The typologies have to take the existing social and cultural100

JAN
2015 20

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Exhibition at the Republic Polytechnic Open House

The bamboo composite research collaboration between the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel in Singapore and the Republic Polytechnic Singapore (Dr Wen Shing) was highlighted again this year from Jan 8th to Jan 10th at the Republic Polytechnic Open House 2015 Event.

NOV
2014 28

Exhibitions, WASTE

Building from Waste exhibition at Baumuster Centrale

A selection of twenty alternative construction materials produced from waste will be on display at the Baumuster Centrale Zürich until January 15th 2015, to be experienced hands-on. The material samples are part of the recent publication “Building from Waste – Recovered Materials in Architecture and Construction” by Dirk E. Hebel, Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel.

NOV
2014 23

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Bamboo Composite at Gewerbemuseum Winterthur

The Chair of Architecture and Construction is exhibiting its bamboo composite material in the exhibition “Magie des Einfachen” (The Magic of the Simple) at the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur from 16th November 2014 to 29th March 2015. Featuring the Brazilian Alvaro Abreu and the German Hans Hansen, the exhibition shows a variety of bamboo applications in the fields of art and construction. More information directly from the museum here and below: Magie des Einfachen Der Brasilianer Alvaro Abreu schnitzt Löffel aus Bambus, Hunderte, Tausende, seit vielen Jahren. Erst in einer späten Lebensphase hat er damit angefangen. Jeden Tag einen Löffel, immer aus einem100

NOV
2014 14

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Bamboo Composite with Haute Innovation in Cologne and Jönköping

In collaboration with Haute Innovation, the Chair of Architecture and Construction exhibited its bamboo composite material at two recent international material fairs: from 21st to 23rd October at the Orgatec 2014 in Cologne, Germany as part of the Smart Office Materials exhibition, and between 11th and 14th November at the Subcontractor 2014 in Jönköping, Sweden.

OCT
2014 28

Events, Exhibitions

Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel exhibits at architektur_0.14

The Assistant Professorship of Dirk E. Hebel exhibits it`s research at architektur 0.14 in Zürich under the theme “More innovation, please!”. For more information please visit: www.architektur-schweiz.ch

OCT
2014 20

Exhibitions, WASTE

Building from Waste Book Vernissage and Exhibition

Building from Waste has been successfully launched and is now available online and in book stores. Together with the book vernissage, also the exhibition Building from Waste was opened on October 8th 2014 at the Baubibliothek at ETH Hönggerberg.

SEP
2014 30

Events, Exhibitions

Future Cities Laboratory Exhibition at ETH Main Building curated by Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel

The research community at FCL shows momentarily an exhibition at the ETH Hauptgebäude to engage in their most recent work and also present a retrospective view over the past four years. The Exhibition – entitled Research, Outcomes, and Prospects – showcases the context, findings, products, and methods of the diverse research projects undertaken in FCL. The Chair of Architecture and Construction (Marta H. Wisniewska, Felix Heisel and Prof. Dirk E. Hebel) has been responsible for the curation and design of the exhibition together with the FCL management and collaborated with Tobias Klauser, who has realized and logistically organized the show100

SEP
2014 04

Exhibitions

FCL Exhibition and Symposium ‘Research, Outcomes and Prospects’

The research community at FCL would like to invite you to an Exhibition and Symposium to engage in their most recent work. The Exhibition and Symposium – entitled Research, Outcomes, and Prospects – will showcase the context, findings, products, and methods of the diverse research projects undertaken in FCL. The Exhibition and Symposium programme will begin with the Exhibition opening in the ETH Zurich’s Hauptgebaude on the evening of Wednesday 24 September. The Symposium will be held on Thursday 25 September, and will feature short summary presentations of each research project within FCL in the morning session, and a series of thematic100

JUN
2014 09

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

CoReSing exhibits bamboo research at World Cities Summit

CoReSing exhibited its Advanced Fibre Composite Materials at this years World Cities Summit in Singapore from June 2nd to 4th at the Swiss Pavilion. The World Cities Summit is a premier event that brings together practitioners and policy makers with leading experts in their field to identify innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing cities today. It is an international conference series on public governance and the sustainable development of cities.

JUN
2014 02

Exhibitions

CoReSing designs the Swiss Pavilion at the World Cities Summit in Singapore 2014

Swissnex and the Future Cities Laboratory commissioned the Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel of FCL Singapore (CoReSing) to design the Swiss Pavilion at the World Cities Summit 2014. Creaholic, The Water Network and FCL’s Robotic Tiling, 3for2x, MATSim Singapore and BaReCo will be exhibitted in the structure from June 2 – 4 at booth L1-T12. The unifying theme for WCS 2014, “Liveable and Sustainable – Common Challenges, Shared Solutions” will build on the discussions at WCS Mayors Forum 2013, where cities will look at the state of urban challenges today and identify principles of shared solutions applicable100

APR
2014 16

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

CoReSing exhibiting at InnovFest 2014

CoReSing exhibits its BaReCo Bamboo Reinforcement Research at this year’s InnovFest on 14-16 April. InnovFest convenes leading thought-leaders, groundbreaking companies and emerging technologies to provide a holistic and comprehensive glimpse of the innovation & enterprise landscape in Asia. Focusing on “Asian Innovations Going Global” InnovFest 2014 will showcase cutting-edge research & expertise from regional universities, start-ups and industry players.

APR
2014 09

Exhibitions, _SPACES

_Spaces at the World Urban Forum

The documentary movie series _Spaces by Felix Heisel and Bisrat Kifle is currently being screened at the World Urban Forum, Urban Equity in Development – Cities for Life in Medellin Colombia. The movies can be watched at Booth 82 (Ethiopia) from the 5th – 11th of April. Alternatively, the movies can also be watched online at http://www.spacesmovie.com.

FEB
2014 26

Exhibitions, SOIL

SUDU featured in Goethe Institute Exhibition

The Goethe Institute Addis Ababa opened a new exhibition last week featuring several prototypologies from the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) and the ETH Zurich, Future Cities Laboratory Singapore, Professorship Dirk E. Hebel. Displayed in models, plans and images, SUDU, SICU, SECU and SAMU propose alternatives for the provision of housing in Addis Ababa. The Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit (SUDU), proposes a dense, two- or even three-story structure in a row house typology . The idea is to offer inhabitants a possibility to construct their own houses without waiting for government programs or private/public developers.100

JAN
2014 19

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Bamboo Composite Material in RP Singapore Event

Our mobile bamboo composite exhibition has been presented at the OPEN HOUSE EVENT 2014 of our collaboration partner Republic Polytechnic Singapore (http://www.rp.edu.sg/openhouse2014/). It has successfully attracted a number of visitors and highlighted the potential impact of a bamboo composite material for the development of future cities. This has been an important event to promote our research within the Singaporean and South East Asian community.

NOV
2013 07

Exhibitions

‘Innovative Technologies’ on display at the ‘Swiss Positions – Swiss Scales’ exhibition in Seoul, South Korea

The installation ‘Innovative Technologies’ is on display at the ‘Swiss Positions – Swiss Scales’ exhibition at the Korea Foundation Cultural Centre in Seoul, South Korea. The exhibition is held in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in the Republic of Korea and Yonsei University in Seoul, and will be on from 7 November 2013 to 20 December 2013. ‘Innovative Technologies’ shows four different innovations in the area of building constructions. The first, titled 342x, questions the fact that traditional air conditioning systems occupy up to 30% of building volumes. Water based systems, replacing air as the means for cooling, can100

NOV
2013 07

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

CoReSing exhibits at the Sunday Showcase in Marina Bay Sands

CoReSing will be presenting its work on Fiber Composite Reinforcement Materials at the Sunday Showcase at the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum. Sunday, 10 November 2013 1:00pm – 7:00pm ArtScience Galleries, ArtScience Museum The Sunday Showcase aims to present transdisciplinary works and engage in conversations based on the themes of climate change, environmental futures, and contemporary Asian and future cities. The event is part of the 2013 Art/Science Residency Programme, a partnership between ArtScience Museum and National University of Singapore Arts & Creativity Laboratory, Tembusu College and Singapore-ETH Centre’s Future Cities Laboratory. Bamboo – The New Steel The tropical belt100

NOV
2013 07

Exhibitions, SOIL, STRAW

SUDU and SECU at the AFRITECTURE exhibition Munich, Germany

CoReSing is exhibiting the research projects SUDU and SECU as a joint effort of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development and the Bauhaus University Weimar at the AFRITECTURE exhibition of the Architekturmuseum, Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany. Additionally, the exhibition features the two movies “Disappearing Spaces” and “Emerging Spaces” from the cinematic research project by Felix Heisel and Bisrat Kifle. In the accompaning catalogue, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel is featured with three articles (one with Prof. Dirk Donath of Weimar University) explaining the efforts of CoReSing on establishing alternative building materials and construction methods in100

NOV
2013 07

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Swiss Positions – Swiss Scales

Five researchers from the Future Cities Laboratory will be giving a series of lectures and workshops in Seoul, Korea. Yonsei Symposium kicks off with FCL’s Programme Leader Prof Kees Christiaanse delivering a lecture on Open City, followed by a panel discussion with Prof Hong-Chul Rhim (Yonsei University), Prof Jae-Seung Lee (Hongik University), Prof Klaas Kresse (University of Seoul) on 24 October 2013. On 7 November 2013, FCL’s Prof Dr Gerhard Schmitt will deliver a keynote speech on Information Architecture as part of the Swiss Scales event. Architecture Tomorrow is a joint seminar featuring FCL’s Michael Budig and Marcel Bruelisauer alongside Yonsei100

NOV
2013 07

Exhibitions

ADDIS 2050 in FCL Midterm Review Exhibition

FCL Midterm Review Exhibition, CREATE Tower Level 6 and 7, September 2013-December 2013 ADDIS 2050 combines the collective activities and collaborations within FCL and African partners over the last few years in Ethiopia, especially in its capital Addis Ababa. The three tables of the installation demonstrate different tools and methodologies in the engagement of differing scales: UNIT, CITY and NATION. The UNIT table suggests five alternative locally available housing construction materials: soil, waste, straw and bamboo. The CITY table allows a possible insight into the future of Addis Ababa following the thesis of clean energy and information abundance. The publication100

NOV
2013 07

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Fiber Composite Reinforcement in Innovative Technologies Exhibition

FCL Midterm Review Exhibition, CREATE Tower Level 6 and 7, September 2013-December 2013 Innovative Technologies shows four different innovations in the area of building constructions. The first, titled 342x, questions the fact that traditional air conditioning systems occupy up to 30% of building volumes. Water based systems, replacing air as the means for cooling, can be embedded in the building structure. The second installation explores the possibility of replacing millions of individual air conditioning units with centralized cooling towers, or heatbuses. The increased efficiency reduces electricity consumption and as a result, costs. The third installation demonstrates the possibility to replace100

JUN
2013 17

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

CoReSing at ‘Smart Cities’ Symposium at AEDES East Gallery Berlin

Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel presented the research work on composite fiber materials of CoReSing at the ‘Smart Cities’ Symposium at AEDES East Gallery Berlin on June 8, 2013. The panel ‘Smart Materials and Technologies’ here with Eike Roswag, Thorsten Klooster, Felix Heisel and Dirk E. Hebel moderated by Sascha Peters focused on innovative approaches on how to address local and easy available material resources and activate them in the urban creation process. Most of all, economical as well as ecological chances and possible establishments of local value chains inside developing territories such as South-East Asia were foregrounded and100

NOV
2012 21

Exhibitions, WASTE

Constructing Waste: The Exhibition

The participating students Desirée Amport, Pascal Genhart, Naomi Hanakata, Alireza Javadian, Ervine Lin, Nikolaos Theodoratos, Tobias Wullschleger and the Chair of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at FCL Singapore will show the results of the FCL-SEC Seminar CONSTRUCTING WASTE with a vernissage on Friday, November 30 at 5pm at the 6th floor of the CREATE Tower. You are warmly invited to attend the event. CONSTRUCTING WASTE interrogated the concept of up-cycling strategies in order to minimize the overall refuse amount in Singapore. The focus on design questions created 7 uniques product designs which have the potential to live a second life cycle in an alternated way. The exhibition showcases the pedagogical100