{"id":2214,"date":"2025-07-01T06:45:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T06:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/?p=2214"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:32:01","slug":"eth-zurich-3d-prints-recycled-plastic-for-digitally-fabricated-gelateria-in-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/eth-zurich-3d-prints-recycled-plastic-for-digitally-fabricated-gelateria-in-switzerland\/","title":{"rendered":"ETH zurich 3D prints recycled plastic for digitally fabricated gelateria in switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New Landmark in small-town switzerland<\/h2>\n

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In the Alpine village of Mulegns, Switzerland<\/strong><\/a>, a 3D-printed<\/strong><\/a> ice cream shop, the Gelateria, stands as an architectural experiment by Origen and ETH Zurich<\/strong><\/a>. Neighboring the team\u2019s recently completed White Tower<\/strong><\/a>, the project is conceived to revive the region with an approach that merges digital fabrication and material reuse.<\/p>\n

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Designed and built by students from ETH Zurich\u2019s Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture and Digital Fabrication (MAS ETH DFAB), Gelateria serves as both an ice cream shop and a prototype for contemporary construction. The project combines a reclaimed timber structure with a 3D-printed interior, revealing how computational design can expand architectural possibilities.<\/p>\n

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the Gelateria is an experimental ice cream shop and architectural prototype | images \u00a9 ETH Zurich<\/p>\n

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eth zurich brings Robotic Craft to alpine Architecture<\/h2>\n

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From the exterior, the structure of ETH Zurich\u2019s Gelateria recalls the familiar silhouette of the barn that previously occupied the site. The team<\/strong><\/a> at employs locally-sourced mass timber elements, which were prefabricated nearby and assembled into a faceted geometry that suggests folded paper. The timber shell is clad in a translucent membrane, filtering daylight and exposing the vibrant interior to passersby.<\/p>\n

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Inside, a colorful cupola becomes the project\u2019s focal point. The vaulted form was fabricated at ETH Zurich\u2019s Robotic Fabrication Lab using an experimental extrusion technique known as Hollow-Core. Originally developed for facade panels, the process was adapted to create a large-scale enclosure. The result is an ultra-lightweight structure covering over 250 square meters but weighing less than one metric ton.<\/p>\n

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ETH Zurich students designed and built the project as part of the MAS ETH DFAB program<\/p>\n

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gelateria A Cultural Catalyst for the Alps<\/h2>\n

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The Gelateria\u2019s interior, Origen and ETH Zurich use recycled PETG, a thermoplastic common in food packaging, demonstrating how plastic waste can acquire new expressive roles in architecture. By reducing the geometric resolution of the digital model, the team accelerated production while emphasizing the layered texture of extrusion.<\/p>\n

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This commitment to material circularity extends to the building as a whole. The timber structure can be disassembled and reassembled, while the plastic elements can be shredded and reprinted. The project\u2019s design language draws on Belle \u00c9poque ornament and Baroque exuberance, reinterpreted through computational workflows and contemporary ecological values.<\/p>\n

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Gelateria forms part of Nova Fundaziun Origen\u2019s broader vision for Mulegns, positioning architectural innovation as a catalyst for cultural and economic renewal in the region. By coupling reclaimed wood and recycled polymers with advanced robotic processes, the project demonstrates a pathway toward more sustainable and adaptive building practices.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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a reclaimed timber structure forms the faceted exterior geometry, recalling an Alpine barn<\/p>\n

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a translucent membrane covers the building, filtering daylight into the vivid interior<\/p>\n

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the colorful cupola was 3D printed using recycled PETG and the Hollow-Core extrusion process<\/p>\n

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the interior spans over 250 square meters while weighing less than one metric ton<\/p>\n

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material reuse and robotic fabrication combine to explore sustainable construction<\/p>\n

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all components are demountable, supporting circularity and future reuse<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name:\u00a0<\/strong>The Gelateria<\/p>\n

architect:\u00a0<\/strong>ETH Zurich<\/a> | @ethzurich<\/a>, Origen<\/a> | @origenfestivalcultural<\/a><\/p>\n

location:\u00a0<\/strong>Mulegns, Switzerland<\/p>\n

photography:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a9 ETH Zurich<\/p>\n

The post ETH zurich 3D prints recycled plastic for digitally fabricated gelateria in switzerland<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A New Landmark in small-town switzerland \u00a0 In the Alpine village of Mulegns, Switzerland, a 3D-printed ice cream shop, the Gelateria, stands as an architectural experiment by Origen and ETH Zurich. Neighboring the team\u2019s recently completed White Tower, the project is conceived to revive the region with an approach that merges digital fabrication and material […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2251,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions\/2251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}