| Architect |
Holzer Kobler Architekturen in partnership with ANS Architects and Planer AG. |
| Date Built |
Opened
2009 |
| Location |
Naturwissenschaften
Ost building on the campus of the ETH |
| Description |
|
The Focus Terra exhibition is
to be found inside the Natural Sciences
Institute building of the ETHZ (Eidgenössische
Technische Hochschule Zürich
or Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Zurich). The
building, designed by the architect
Gustav Gull, dates from 1916 and is
characterized by, "... a
spacious, four-floored inner hall
(quadrangle) and accommodated,
shortly after its opening, the earth
science collections of the ETH. Long
rows of dark-wooded showcases
occupied the entire hall where the
majority of the collection could be
stored and exhibited."
Over the years it has undergone a
number of refurbishments including one
in 2005 to 2009 by the architects
Itten-Brechbühl that was designed to
allow for this permanent earth science
exhibition. The Holzer Kobler website points out that, "... The centerpiece of the exhibition is a tower located in the covered courtyard. .....  .... The free-standing spiral form of the exhibition tower sets itself confidently apart from the existing building. Analogous to the forces at work below the earth`s surface, the tower spirals up three levels reaching just below the skylight of the inner courtyard. ...  ... A staircase and a continuous ribbon of showcases connect different levels of the exhibition in a seamless continuum, and guide visitors through the fascinating layers of the earth: from the dynamic processes inside the earth`s core, the treasures hidden below its surface, to the intriguing `archives` preserved in its strata through the ages."    - Other views of the building's interior -   |
|
|
Focus Terra, Zurich,
Switzerland
 |
