District heating power station transformed into idea lab

The district heating power station located on Clausiusstrasse in the center of Zurich has been transformed into an idea lab for students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). Across five storeys and an area of 1,200 square meters, the Student Project House provides an opportunity to tinker with new ideas, as the university writes in a press release. For this, the students have a total of 24 3D printers and four laser cutters at their disposal, in addition to other tools and devices. Moreover, they can also take advantage of coaching programs and workshops.

“We want to encourage students to try new things, to initiate and engage in projects that explicitly don’t form part of their studies, and, if they fail, to learn from their experiences”, explains Sarah Springman, ETH Rector and patron of the initiative. The aim is to “educate and stimulate independent thinkers and makers”, she adds.

The first projects to be trialed at the new idea lab include, for example, a smart white cane for visually impaired people and a pair of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses to replace instruction booklets.

The opening of the idea lab does not, however, mean that ETH Zurich’s new project is now complete. The university has committed to renovating the entire building complex, which actually dates from the 1930s. This will end up costing 120 million Swiss francs overall, with renovation work not expected to be finalized until the end of 2025.

The new Student Project House is already the second such idea lab set up by ETH Zurich. The first is located on the Hönggerberg campus.