Research, teaching, and practice are directly interlinked, with the aim of testing research findings within the project itself and making a tangible contribution to the fields of construction in existing buildings and adaptive reuse. These insights are intended to be transferable to other projects and buildings.
The LLHIL was initiated by Professor Matthias Kohler in the Department of Architecture and Hannes Pichler, Director of Real Estate Management at ETH Zurich, with the involvement of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering D-BAUG. The project is coordinated and developed by the internal LLHIL planning team.
EVENTS & NEWS
A look behind the facade
To assess the reuse potential of the HIL’s approximately 6,000 facade elements, a section of the facade was opened and examined in detail.
The Rhythm of HIL
Where and when is the HIL actually used? A project by ETH E&S and the LLHIL planning team reveals the building’s otherwise invisible patterns of activity.
What does HIL sound like?
What does HIL sound like today – and what could it sound like in the future? Two input projects explore the building’s acoustic identity: «Acoustical Archive» documents its current soundscape ahead of the renovation, while «HIL Future Soundscapes» develops a web-based acoustic design tool that enables sound to be integrated into the architectural design process from an early stage.
INPUT PROJECTS
The HIL building project will serve research and teaching purposes over a period of three years. It aims to develop new approaches to planning, construction, and use, by leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration between ETH professors and their students and researchers, as well as with specialist departments at ETH and partners from the construction industry.
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Vertical Watergarden
The project explores how rainwater can be collected on existing terraces and used to support plants, biodiversity, and new forms of outdoor use. "Vertical Watergarden" combines landscape architecture with digital design and fabrication methods.
Prof. Fabio Gramazio, Prof. Matthias Kohler, Prof. Martina Voser -
Living Room HIL
This input project uses the HIL E60–E73 area to examine how modern and flexible spaces can be realized within the existing HIL structure, in order to fit the various needs of the contemporary architecture school.
Prof. Tom Emerson, Prof. Dr. Anna Puigjaner -
Building Component Catalogue
The component catalogue records the building components of the HIL in digital form and classifies them in terms of material and architectural history. In this way, it creates a lasting foundation for the sustainable further development of the building stock.
Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg -
700 Perspectives on HIL
At the beginning of the 2025 fall semester, 700 architecture students spent a day drawing the HIL building. The resulting works mark the start of an internal departmental debate about the future of the HIL.
Prof. Roger Boltshauser, Prof. Adrien Comte, Prof. Jan De Vylder, Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, Prof. Débora Mesa Molina, Prof. Adrien Meuwly -
Master Context(s) HIL
During the Spring Semester of 2026, all architecture students will address the shared context of the HIL in their Master's theses, selecting one of fourteen topics formulated by individual design chairs from their own perspectives.
Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete, Prof. Roger Boltshauser, Prof. Adam Caruso, Prof. François Charbonnet, Prof. Adrien Comte, Prof. Jan De Vylder, Prof. Dr. Guillaume Habert, Prof. Patrick Heiz, Prof. Mariam Issoufou Mahamadou, Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg, Prof. Dr. Max Maurer, Prof. Débora Mesa Molina, Prof. Adrien Meuwly, Prof. Dr. Elli Mosayebi, Prof. Freek Persyn, Prof. Dr. Anna Puigjaner, Prof. Dr. Arno Schlüter, Prof. Dr. Laurent Stalder, Prof. Andreas Taras, Prof. Martina Voser -
Transforming with data
A data-driven approach enhances digital building models by incorporating performance data. This provides a transparent and measurable basis for making informed decisions about renovating the HIL building.
