Professor Ludger Hovestadt´s Institute for Computer-Aided Architectural Design at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) is widely regarded as one of the world´s most important institutes currently working at the interface between architecture and information technology. The combination of these two makes it possible to see architecture no longer as a separate sphere of technological reality but rather as one element of a society based on information technology. As a universal tool, the computer encourages one to think in terms of information structures and systems that span individual fields. This "rethinking" of the nature of architecture is leading to a paradigm shift at the methodological level of design, planning, construction, and economy. After a decade of experimentation, it has now become possible to see information technology for architecture as the basis for a new and energy-saving practical approach to building. This publication presents the work of the chair for CAAD using numerous examples - from the spectacular Monte Rosa Alpine hut of Andrea Deplazes to the residential development of KCAP.
