History of Architectural Education at ETH Zurich

1854 Parliamentary resolution establishing a federal polytechnic school in Zurich, on the basis of the 1848 constitution

15 October 1855 Opening of the "Swiss Federal Polytechnic School" with six divisions, including the Engineering School and – although not originally envisaged – the "Building School"

7 February 1856 With the appointment of Gottfried Semper, not only a successful architect of monumental buildings but also an established theorist and teacher becomes the first professor and director of the Building School. His educational model of the atelier libre, oriented on the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, conflicts with the polytechnic school’s profile, which is chiefly practical and technically oriented. The pupils work in the drafting room on practical assignments, compete in rivalries and contribute to Sempers’s own projects.
Semper succeeds in changing the title of the degree from "master builder" to "architect", but he nonetheless fails to extend the three-year duration of studies.

1857 The second professorial chair, focused on civil engineering, is filled by Ernst Gladbach

1864 The Building School relocates to the newly built polytechnic, erected according to plans by Semper, where it occupies the ground floor of the north and west wings

1866 Maximum of 52 students (consistently below 100 until 1914)

1871 Semper’s departure. Julius Stadler and George Lasius continue to teach in his spirit, but the school is in danger of ossifying

1881 With the appointment of Friedrich Bluntschli – an esteemed architect in the tradition of Semper, albeit far more formalistic – the instruction focuses entirely on the Renaissance vocabulary

1882 The studies are extended to seven semesters

1899 The Building School is renamed as the "Architecture School" and again in 1924 as the "Architecture Division"

1900 Gustav Gull, Zurich’s municipal architect, is appointed as professor. Reform architecture arrives, and the differentiation between monumental and civil architecture becomes obsolete. Gull introduces the discipline of "urban design" into the curriculum.

1904 The diploma thesis is separated from the seven semesters of the study programme

1911 The polytechnic is renamed as the "Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich"

1914 With Bluntschli’s retirement, instruction in the classical vocabulary is largely curtailed, finally ending in 1925 with the appointment of Friedrich Hess as the successor to Lasius.

1915 Karl Moser is appointed as professor
Gull and Moser increasingly advocate two conflicting architectural views; Gull is considered regressive and Moser, by contrast, is seen as progressive – and as one of the forefathers of modern architecture.

1917 By reorganising the subjects of structural mechanics, structural analysis and engineering design, the division of responsibilities between engineers and architects we commonly know today is firmly established.

1929 After Moser’s retirement (1928) as well as Gull’s restructuring and the reformation of the architecture division by his successors, Otto Rudolf Salvisberg and William Dunkel: To avoid the coexistence of competing architectural ideas, the instruction is divided into a succession of two-semester courses, each of which is overseen by a single professor and which comprise tasks that are progressively more complex. The curriculum is given a stronger design orientation, with structural analysis and building construction are closely aligned.

1931 Work experience is anchored in the curriculum by implementing a mandatory six-month internship (one year since 1945)

1941 Hans Hofmann follows O. R. Salvisberg.

1959 Over 400 students enrolled. William Dunkel retires.
The teaching is reorganised: The foundation course developed substantially by Bernhard Hoesli conveys the principles of modern architecture in a systematic way, thus making it is possible to simultaneously permit differing tendencies and understandings of (modern) architecture in the upper-level courses.
The teaching staff is expanded, and now includes visiting professors like Georges Candilis, Ralph Erskine, Jørn Utzon and Aldo Rossi (1972–1974), whose design methodologies have been influential until very recently.

1960 The duration of study is extended to eight semesters (plus diploma thesis)

The architecture division develops an increasingly more scientific orientation
New subjects, such as sociology (1962, Lucius Burckhardt), are introduced
The teaching principles for architectural design are systematised by Hoesli (the teaching principles for construction are later systematised by Heinz Ronner and those for design by Peter Jenny)
Research institutes established:

• Institute for Local, Regional and National Planning ORL (1961; reorganised in 2002 as the Network City and Landscape NSL)
• Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture gta (1967)
• Institute for Building Research HBF (1969; abolished 1985)
• Institute for Building Technology HBT (1972; since 2009: Institute of Technology in Architecture ITA)
• Institute of Historic Building Research ID (1972; now: Institute of Historic Building Research and Conservation IDB)

1968 Additional space is taken up in the so-called Globus Provisorium at the Bahnhofbrücke

1972 A two-year rotation cycle is established for the dean

Mid-1970s Over 1000 students enrolled

1976 Under great protest, the architecture division relocates to the ETH annex on the Hönggerberg campus

1980s In light of the pluralism of international architecture and through ETH’s own research, the supposedly clear profile of the school, based on modernism, is increasingly called into question. The stringent didactic concept of the foundation course at the beginning of the programme is fragmented.

The school, called the Department of Architecture since 1999, gains more autonomy. In accordance with the ETH’s policies focused on international excellence, research takes on greater significance. This is reflected in the numerous publications issued by the chairs and institutes and in a significant increase in the number of doctorates.

2007 Introduction of a six-semester bachelor programme and a four-semester master programme in compliance with standards defined by the Bologna Process