Material 13: Structural Node

Element reclaimed from the disassembly of the Huber Pavillion at ETH Zurich, Campus Hönggerberg.

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This node is reclaimed from the overhang of the famous Huber pavilions at ETH Zurich. Part of the materials such as wooden beams and trusses have been reclaimed from the demolition site of the Huber pavilions. During Prof. De Wolf’s course ‘Digitalisation for Circular Construction’ and Prof. Kajima’s Focus Work, a research and teaching object is being designed and built by the students accompanied by architecture firm Baubüro in situ and professional builders Wiederverwercle in the form of a pavilion. The reuse of the Huber Pavilions by the ETH Students will be published in a book and film in the framework of the Library of Reuse.

History of the Stool

The Circular Engineering for Architecture (CEA) lab at ETH Zurich asked Wiederverwerckle to disassemble the overhang of the Huber pavilions to save it from demolition. The light-colored parts of the stool are part of a small beam waste element that was too small to reuse as a structural element. The other elements are being used in the students’ structural design project. Anku and Müller Holzbau also disassembled a rotting structural frame, made of exotic wood. Due to the rotten part of the wood, it was thrown into the waste bin. When cutting away the rotten part, we discovered the beautiful red color of the original wood, which you can see in the design of the stool.

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A transition to a circular economy, in which used materials may become valuable resources for a new production cycle, is urgently needed. This project aims to develop integrated frameworks and tools based on advanced digital technology for informing the design, construction and management of circular buildings and deploying more effective resource solutions. It addresses the questions of which contributions future circular cities can make to lower adverse environmental impacts and how to derive tailored, site-specific system solutions for sustainable housing.

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