There are not many industrial construction materials on which one can write from an historical perspective. One such is Eternit, a fiber-cement. "Over the past 100 years this building material has greatly influenced architecture: in one area, which appeared especially important and promising for the so-called 'Neues Bauen' as well as emblematic for the 'new' as such", writes Werner Oechslin, head of the ETH Institute for History and Theory of Architecture (1), and author of the newly published "Eternit Schweiz. Architektur und Firmenkultur seit 1903". (Eternit Switzerland. Architecture and Corporate Culture since 1903). "The new construction building material, Eternit, excited and challenged 'formgivers' and even designers, while satisfying traditional requirements of architecture at the same time." Eternit created and put its stamp on architecture; Le Corbusier, for example, was variously referred to as "Monsieur Eternit". The centenary is seen as a fitting occasion for ETH architects to glance back and review the developments surrounding this material – with a conference, an exhibition and a book.

Multiple perspectives: Eternit exhibition in the main hall. large

The foundation stone of fibre cement development was laid by Ludwig Hatschek, son of an Austrian brewer, who wanted to set up his own company. His wife, Rosa, chanced upon a newspaper advertisement for the sale of machines from an asbestos spinning-mill. In 1893 he founded the "First Austrian-Hungarian Asbestos Factory Ludwig Hatschek" in Vöcklabruck. "The idea matured to manufacture a lightweight covering material using asbestos," writes Linus B. Fetz, civil engineer, long-time ETH employee and one-time head of communications at Eternit AG. In 1901 Hatschek was granted sole right to production with patent no. 5970. "The material asbestos cement was born, " as Fetz puts it, "and, as a clever merchant, Hatschek christened his brainchild 'Eternit', from the Latin 'aeternum' which means eternal, imperishable." (2)

Paul Waltenspühl: Eternit Factory in Payerne, 1956-57. Photo: G. Klemm, Geneva. large

Immune to acids and chemicals

The composite material was a great success. By the beginning of the 1980s over 3,000 uses had been registered, from ashtrays to heat protection plates and from crazy-golf installations to electrical meter panels. One reason for its success was the characteristics of this material – its indestructibility in contact with acids or chemicals, as well as its low heat conductance. These arose from the fibrous silicate asbestos which lent strength and stability to cement (nowadays this is replaced with cellular and man-made plastic fibres).

An example for the modern use of Eternit: private house in Malans, constructed by Bearth & Deplaze, 2001-2002. Photo: Jürg Zimmermann. large

This is where a further chapter of Eternit history begins, which - even today - some circles do not like to discuss. In the book and exhibition the issue is only touched upon. "It has been known for some time that close exposure contact of long duration with to asbestos dust can lead to asbestosis, a lung disease, from which, in rare cases, can lead to lung cancer develops", it says tersely.

According to current estimates from the Swiss Accident Insurance Organisation (SUVA): "of the 90 annual deaths attributed to job-related diseases, around a third can be ascribed to asbestos" (3). Anders Holte and Fredi Wittenwiler from the Direction of Eternit Switzerland AG assess the situation as follows: "We live with the awareness that to date around 50 of our employees have died of a Mesotheliom, a malign tumour which is often caused by asbestos dust. This is a part of our history that we have to live with and which saddens us."

Guido Cocchi, René Vittone, AAA: type-foundry in Neuchatel, 1961-64. Photo: Jürg Zimmermann, 2002. large

Pending legal procedures

Asbestosis has been recognised as a job-related disease since 1939 in Switzerland and tightened regulations were introduced in the 1950s governing the handling of asbestos. The 1960s brought scientific evidence that asbestos can cause tumours and since 1989 its use has been forbidden in Switzerland. In the following years many old buildings and constructions were sanitised, at great cost and above all, in constructions where sprayed asbestos had been used. With regard to tumour related illness of Italian citizens who formerly worked for Eternit, the Public Prosecutor of Turin opened criminal procedures, which, in the course of the investigation, led to an appeal to the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police to initiate legal aid procedure in 2001. Eternit AG appealed to Switzerland's highest court, the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne. The decision of the court is pending.

The industry has adapted to new regulations. "The first enterprise to do so, starting in 1980 and proceeding step by step, Eternit AG in Niederurnen successfully manufactures all its products free of asbestos. Since 1990 all aboveground construction materials and since 1994 all foundation materials are produced without asbestos, according to a press release. There is a very good reason for this. Because Eternit is an excellent building construction material. "There can be no doubt," says Oechslin "that an entire culture is bound up in the hundred-year history of Eternit AG."