Halter makes a commitment to digital planning and construction

The donation from Halter AG will primarily be used to set up a new Fellowship programme to promote innovation in the field of augmented computational design at the Design++ centre. Talented researchers will work towards making promising technologies commercially viable, aiming to create new business models that promote resource efficiency and circularity and reduce carbon emissions in architecture and civil engineering.

“We urgently need to develop and establish new processes and business models to boost productivity and sustainability in the construction industry and, not least, bring about a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. At Halter AG, we are committed to ensuring this in our projects and through our collaborations. 

Design++ at ETH Zurich takes a promising approach and represents a very important commitment for us,” explains Balz Halter, Chair of the Halter AG Board.

The aim of the centre is to develop digital tools and computational processes that simultaneously improve innovative design, boost systematic construction productivity, improve the quality of the built environment and reduce their environmental impact. Design++ integrates artificial intelligence (AI) (with a focus on machine learning) and extended reality (such as augmented reality) to advance methods in architecture and civil engineering practice.