ETH Zurich, Switzerland

MArch students of our School’s design research unit in Digital Technology and Computational Design visited ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in May 2016 under the guidance of Prof. Kristof Crolla to present their final studio projects to local academics and experts. Organised in collaboration with the ETH, the joint studio focused on Guangdong’s abandoned industrial infrastructure and its potential for cultural redevelopment, investigating how complex geometry and digital fabrication technology can radically transform the way our built environment materialises today.

This collaborative studio served as a unique opportunity for our students to visit ETH’s world-leading research labs in the field of computation and robotics, and to learn from ETH professors on their boundary-breaking digital work and research exploring optimised compression structures and the applications of robotics in architecture. In addition to the ETH, CUHK students also travelled around Zurich and the broader region to study numerous architectural highlights, including Hungerburg Funicular in Innsbruck by Zaha Hadid Architects.