DETAIL Construction Award in the "Roof" Category

The glass-prism roof of ETH Zurich's listed Machine Laboratory, built in the 1930s and restored by our team, has received the DETAIL Construction Award in the "Roof" category.

"The glass-covered machine hall with its roughly 30 × 60 m footprint is at the centre of the site. […] In the 1940s the first glass prisms came loose in the roof structure and began to fall down. […] It required significant effort to liberate the existing fabric from later additions and restore its original conditions. Historic preservation officials were deeply embedded in the process." Jakob Schoof, DETAIL anniversary issue 06/2026.

Developed specifically for the restoration in collaboration with Swiss glass-block specialist Semadeni, the new glass blocks have an overall height of 24 centimeters—three times that of the original glass prisms. Each unit incorporates an approximately eight-centimeter-wide insulating cavity filled with argon gas. Replicas modeled on the historic glass blocks are integrated into the lower layer of the double-walled glass-block units used today. Their relief pattern refracts the light, preserving the delicate appearance of the original roof.

Thank you, DETAIL. We are delighted to receive this award.