At ETH Zurich’s only preserved laboratory hall, a virtual tour allows you to immerse yourself in this historic space. Experience how past and present meld during the Swiss Digital Days, held from 19 to 25 September 2022.

Virtual time travel

Explore the historic laboratory via three different 360° panoramas. Each panorama is accompanied by audio commentary and information points that provide interesting details on a variety of topics:

• The history and architecture of the listed building and the history of chemistry at ETH Zurich
• Teaching of, and research into, coal-tar dyes, an important field in the 19th century
• Remodelling and repurposing of the laboratory and the current use of the space

A faithful reconstruction

Using historical images and floor plans from the collections and archives of ETH Zurich and the ETH Library, the laboratory for organic chemistry – together with all its inventory and laboratory equipment – has been reconstructed true to the original for this virtual experience.

The spatial dimensions were provided by the still-extant laboratory hall in the former chemistry building at ETH Zurich. The building was planned in 1886 by the professors of architecture Alfred F. Bluntschli and Georg Lasius in collaboration with two chemistry professors, and it was the first building in Zurich to feature exposed bricks. Over the years, the hall was remodelled and repurposed on several occasions. Today, it serves students – and now you – as a classroom.

This journey back to the last century can be embarked on Thursday, 22 September 2022, 16.00 to 19.30.

Location: ETH Zurich, Building CAB, Universitätsstrasse 6, 8006 Zurich