The opening of the development and laboratory building on the Gloriarank (GLC) site has been delayed once again. According to the current planning status, the professorships will be able to start moving in from autumn 2022, and the building will open for the 2023 spring semester. Both teaching and research at ETH are affected significantly by the delay.
As a look inside the building reveals, most of the construction work in the GLC is complete. It will be autumn 2022, however, before the HEST and ITET departments can move into the new building. Before ETH Zurich can take over the building from the general contractor, the building automation still needs to be completed and the various laboratories, seminar rooms and the cafeteria with their facilities and equipment put into operation and the appropriate intermediate testing carried out. ETH Zurich, as the building owner, is in close contact with the general contractor in this regard. Making the building available for teaching and research as quickly as possible is a top priority for the university.
Finding solutions with the GLC task force
The building handover, which has been postponed several times, poses major challenges for the departments concerned and their research groups in terms of their project and space planning. In view of the fact that certain research work will only be possible with the new infrastructure in the GLC, certain research projects are currently on hold. In addition to the HEST and ITET departments that will be moving into the new building, another four departments are affected by the resulting lack of space (BIOL, CHAB, USYS and MATL), as various research groups are waiting to move into the space that will become available as a result of the relocation. The renovation projects planned for these premises have also had to be postponed, and further temporary accommodation arranged.
In a joint task force, the Real Estate Management department worked together with the departments affected and the Rectorate to find overall solutions. Daniel Bucheli, Head of the Real Estate Management department and the GLC task force, would like to thank everyone for their commitment: “This delay involves a great deal of additional work for us all. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved for the positive approach towards finding a solution.”
