What will future learning environments for architecture and civil engineering look like? The studio explores this question through the HIL building at ETH Zurich. Since 1856, the department’s learning spaces have undergone significant transformation—from small seminar rooms to the Globus provisional building and, eventually, today’s HIL. With digitalisation, learning environments are becoming more flexible, more complex, and increasingly connected to hands-on experience.
Building on these developments, the studio investigates how HIL can be reinterpreted and redesigned. At the outset, students select a specific theme or area of the building and gather plans, contextual knowledge, and on-site impressions. In the preparatory phase, this material forms the basis for an initial analysis: which users, spaces, paths, and challenges define the chosen area? These insights are visualised in simple network diagrams.
In the design phase, students develop concrete spatial proposals. Through models and drawings, they demonstrate how HIL can be transformed to support contemporary modes of learning—flexible, experiential, and open to new pedagogical formats. The aim is to reveal the building’s potential and to create learning environments that strengthen and inspire the ETH community.