The "Hackeschen Höfe" in the Scheunen district of Berlin near the Alexanderplatz, built around 1900 and recently expertly renovated, is the place the public flocks to today. Where the Central Committee of Germany's Communist Party had its headquarters in the 1920s tourists ar now strolling through the eight inner courtyards, which make up this complex. The combination of back-street charm and the city atmosphere has enticed restaurants, boutiques, a studio cinema, theatre, bookshops and galleries into the courtyards. One of these is called Aedes – Latin for "house" or "temple".

Bedded on red: the E-science lab, financed to a considerable degree by Branco Weiss, is an important milestone for Science City. large

The aim of its founders, Kristin Freireiss and Hans-Jürgen Commerell, is to document the development and trends of architecture – not only with their best known but also with their youngest exponents. Over the almost 25 years of its existence Aedes has become an important port of call for anyone involved with or interested in architecture. The German weekly "Der Spiegel“, for example, describes the institution as the "building laboratory and experimental studio of an upcoming international avant-garde“. And the "TAZ" writes, "All stars have to pass through here."

"Arrival at ETH, an accolade“

Now it is Science City's turn (1). Around 200 people at last week's opening wanted to discover what the exhibition had to offer in the way of pictures, plans, models, texts and on-screen displays to illustrate the vision of a university campus and city district at Hönggerberg. Among those present from Switzerland were Ernst Buschor, Vice-president of the ETH Board, Marcel Knörr, President of the District Association and member of Zurich's parliament and Emy Lalli, President of the Council of Canton Zurich. Zurich had "a mythical reputation in architecture", especially in Germany, said Kristin Freireiss. Whenever a student from Berlin reported that they have "arrived" at ETH, it "took on the quality of an accolade". Once again, with its plans for Science City, ETH Zurich is pointing the way: the key word in networking. In coming years universities will need more and more intelligent points of contact to industry and the economy.

Drawing quite a crowd: pictures, screens and models (here of Semper's ETH Polytechnikum) illustrate the development of ETH Zurich. large

In his speech, Gerhard Schmitt, ETH Vice-president Planning and "Science City“ initiator made clear that, for Switzerland in its early years as a Federal State – a state, moreover, without natural resources – the brain pool at Polytechnikum was an indispensable intellectual culture-medium in the State's transition to an industrialised nation. Schmitt went on to describe how the constructional development of ETH had always had to keep pace with rapid growth and changing expectations.

Patronage versus sponsorship

"Following the ETH Centre and the campus at Hönggerberg, Science City is now the third vision for ETH," said Schmitt. It should be operational by 2010. The next important milestone would be the ceremony with the spade for the information science building (after 2005), which, Schmitt revealed, will be called the "Branco Weiss Information Science Lab“. ETH alumnus and patron Branco Weiss is financing the construction with 23 million CHF. At the opening of the exhibition Weiss himself emphasised that it was a privilege for him to be able to support ETH. However, not every form of support was as altruistic as this one. In an age of increasing dependency on private funding a clear differentiation had to be made between sponsors, who expect something for their money, and patrons, who do not, said Weiss.

"Blackbox": In a multimedial and entertaining manner a separate cabinet shows visitors the possibilities opening up for students and workers and the population of neighbouring city districts at Science City at Hönggerberg. large

Universitas greets Civitas

"I am a great admirer of the Poly," says Werner Baumann, Switzerland's ambassador in Berlin in his opening address. "Great-grandfather, grandfather and father – all studied at ETH Zurich. I noticeably sank in the opinion of my grandmother when I turned towards the humanities," he joked. Baumann especially welcomed the fact that, with its Science City vision, the Universitas ETH was turning towards the Civitas. The US architect Michael Rotondi praised Science City as a phenomenon that reached beyond the union of science and architecture. "This is about creating fruitful relations, which is surely the starting point of all universities."