19.12.2025
NCCR DFAB Director Philippe Block honoured by British Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for Arts (RSA) announces its new Royal Designers for Industry, awarding the Honorary title, HRDI to Philippe Block.
Initiated in 2014, the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication aims to revolutionise architecture through the seamless combination of digital technologies and physical building processes. Over 60 researchers from six different academic disciplines collaborate to develop ground-breaking technologies for tomorrow’s construction. Their research allows Switzerland to take a leading position within the global field of digital fabrication. The NCCR Digital Fabrication is the first NCCR focused on architecture and construction funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Initiated at ETH Zurich, it is partnered with EPF Lausanne, the Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Bern University of Applied Sciences and Empa.
Read more19.12.2025
The Royal Society for Arts (RSA) announces its new Royal Designers for Industry, awarding the Honorary title, HRDI to Philippe Block.
15.12.2025
Lucia Licciardello is investigating how 3D printed concrete can evolve from a material used mainly for non-structural elements into a reliable load-bearing option. Through two testing methods she aims to clarify its structural potential and support the development of future design rules.
10.12.2025
Alumnus Aryan Rad built on his traditional training in structural engineering and developed an interdisciplinary approach that brings together architecture, computational methods, and digital fabrication to advance sustainable construction.
08.12.2025
Spin-off Contouro is redefining the intersection of architecture, art, and engineering. Building on over a decade of research in digital fabrication, Contouro transforms complex computational designs into real-world structures, from monumental sculptures to innovative architectural elements.
01.12.2025
Ena Lloret-Fritschi is Director of the newly established Institute for Sustainable Architecture and Technology at USI. The Institute promotes research and innovation in architecture by integrating heritage conservation and adaptive reuse, structural design and engineering, digital technology and…
25.11.2025
NCCR DFAB alumna Prof. Kathrin Dörfler hosted the COMPAS_RRC workshop at the Technical University of Munich, bringing together experts and partners to advance robotic fabrication.
20.05.2026 - 23.05.2026
The 'Future of Construction' symposium explores how technology shapes the way we design and build. The accelerating convergence of technological domains in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) invites us to rethink human capability, skill, and agency. At this intersection, AI, extended reality, and robotics…
25.11.2025
The NCCR DFAB and Innovationspark Siwitzerland Zurich invite builders, architects, engineers, planners, contractors, and end-users to explore the potential of resource-efficient additive manufacturing processes and the associated modern data and information flows. Objectives: Share knowledge and insightsPromote exchange and collaborationIdentify…
28.10.2025
Join Nora A. Escherle (SVIN) and Kaitlin McNally (NCCR Digital Fabrication) for an engaging dialogue on regeneration. This lunch webinar brings together voices from food culture, farming, urban design, and futures thinking to explore how regeneration can shape our daily practices and collective futures. Featuring insights from Rebecca Clopath (nature chef, organic…
27.09.2025
On Saturday, 27 September, the Arch_Tech_Lab will open its doors to visitors as part of the Open House Zurich event. Under the motto ‘Architecture for All,’ the association organises annual tours of over 150 buildings that are not otherwise open to the public. The National Centre of Competence in Research for Digital Fabrication, in collaboration with the Institute of…
17.09.2025
Startup Architecture – Venture as a new mode of Ppractice: This conference explores the growing phenomenon of architects founding startups—not merely as a commercial extension of practice, but as a radical redefinition of what architecture can be. As traditional modes of practice face economic, technological, and cultural pressures, a…
25.06.2025 - 27.06.2025
Releasing over 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consuming over 40% of primary resources, the built environment needs an urgent transformation towards climate neutrality and circularity while hosting a booming humanity in dignified conditions under climate change. Optimising individual solutions…