ETH Zurich and project partners launch platform for climate-responsive architecture
The "IDA – Integrated Design Atlas" is a digital knowledge hub for environmentally and socially sustainable architecture. The platform, which is supported by SwissEnergy, contributes to the Energy Strategy 2050.
Since June 2025, the new platform ‘IDA – Integrated Design Atlas’ has been available to architects, educators, and students. It is a digital environment that offers interdisciplinary and practice-oriented access to knowledge about ecological and social sustainability in construction – across language and institutional boundaries. The platform accelerates training and continuing education in climate-conscious building design and contributes substantially to advancing a future-oriented building culture.
Key themes include sufficiency, renewable energy, local resources, circularity, and comfort. Through open exchange of knowledge and experience, and its integration into education, IDA fosters a qualified community of architectural professionals equipped to design and implement climate-friendly buildings. The goal is to make socially and ecologically responsible construction second nature – as an integral part of architectural practice. The platform thus supports both Switzerland’s Energy Strategy 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ETH Zurich developed the platform in collaboration with nine project partners, including eight universities from all language regions and the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA). It is based on a platform first developed for educational purposes at ETH Zurich’s Chair of Architecture and Building Systems. The shared goal: to strengthen sustainability in teaching and practice and make up-to-date specialist knowledge accessible across institutions. Their collective expertise gives IDA both depth and national reach.
A digital space to advance climate-responsive architecture
Architecture schools and professionals today require specific competencies in climate, energy, comfort, circularity, and sustainability to meet the evolving demands of the profession. IDA provides a shared digital environment offering tools, use cases, and support for climate-conscious design in early planning phases.
IDA enhances the ability of all participants to explore new approaches by creating an open, interconnected space for research, the building industry, and academic institutions. Knowledge from teaching and research at leading Swiss universities is consolidated, curated, and made directly accessible to practitioners, students, and instructors.
The platform includes features such as workshops, networking events, topic-specific sessions, and content from existing curricula. It is built on Moodle – a well-established, open-source learning system used worldwide. This foundation ensures IDA’s agility and accessibility.
IDA is structured around four core navigation areas. The section Case Studies presents ‘good practice’ projects with descriptive text, plans, and images. The Toolbox offers a collection of digital tools to support the design process. The area Stories features in-depth blog-style contributions related to case studies and tools. The section Community supports professional exchange, peer-to-peer advice, and news sharing.
In the long term, it is planned that the SIA will take over responsibility for the platform, contributing to its structural integration into Swiss building practice. The partner universities will remain actively involved, embedding IDA in their curricula and continuously developing its content. IDA is available in four languages at external page www.idaida.ch.
‘IDA – Integrated Design Atlas’
Project partners
• Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)
• Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich)
• Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU)
• Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST)
• School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (HEIA-FR)
• University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI)
• Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA)
• University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)
• Università della Svizzera italiana (USI)
• Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Support
The project ‘IDA – Integrated Design Atlas’ is supported by SwissEnergy – the federal program to increase energy efficiency and promote renewable energies. As part of the ‘Bildungsoffensive Gebäude,’ SwissEnergy supports educational projects aimed at addressing the skilled labor shortage and advancing energy and climate policy in the building sector.