Startup Architecture –
Big Ideas for the Physical World
The built environment is the world’s largest asset class — the physical infrastructure of everyday life — and one of the least transformed industries of the past century. At the same time, robotics is maturing, AI is moving into physical systems, and advances in materials science are accelerating. A new generation of founders, engineers, and thinkers is turning its attention to one of the most consequential challenges in the physical world: how we build.
This symposium brings together theorists, founders, investors, architects, engineers, roboticists, sociologists, and historians to examine the questions automation poses for the built environment — not simply what is technically possible, but what is structurally necessary, culturally meaningful, and ultimately worth building.
Participation
Startup Pitch
Venue
ETH Zurich Campus Hönggerberg
Institute of Technology In Architecture
Building HIB Open Space Floor E, Open Space 2
Stefano Franscini Platz 1
Arriving by public transport
You can reach us via bus lines 69 or 80, get off at the stop ETH Hönggerberg along Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse, then walk towards the Stefano-Franscini-Platz, through the HIL building, across a bridge and into our HIB building in which our institute is located.
Arriving by car
You can arrive via Albert-Einstein-Strasse, and can find your way to a signposted underground carpark, or otherwise can be dropped off right at the end of this street (next to the HXE building). Then walk towards the Stefano-Fanscini-Platz, through the HIL building, across a bridge and into the HIB building in which our institute is located.
Contact
Ewa Maciejewski
Media
Please note that photos, film footage, and voice recordings will be taken during the symposium. Symposium participants, speakers and audience, may be captured. Visual and sound content may appear on ETH Zurich’s and our symposium partners’ media channels. In case of questions, please email us ahead of time.
Committee
Dr. Gilles Retsin
(Conference Chair)
Dr. Gilles Retsin is co-founder of Automated Architecture (AUAR), a London-based technology startup developing robotic micro-factories, timber-frame systems, and software platforms for sustainable, affordable housing at scale. Originally from Belgium, he studied at the Architectural Association in London and earned a PhD from RMIT in Australia. His work, merging industrialised construction with digital design, has been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Gilles Retsin is an Associate Professor at UCL Bartlett and taught “Architecture in Large Quantities” at ETH Zürich (2024–2025), focusing on automation, prefabrication, and timber.
Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger
(Conference Chair)
Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger is an architect who explores computational design methods and digital fabrication to broaden the design freedom for architecture and to develop performative building solutions. Relevant works include the development of the Tor Alva, a 3D printed tower in a Swiss Alpine Valley, and the design of two full-scale 3D printed rooms for the FRAC Centre, Orleans, and the permanent collection of Centre Pompidou, Paris. He holds a PhD degree from ETH Zurich and is leading the research group Digital Building Technologies (DBT) at the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich after working as an Assistant Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto. He is a Principal Investigator of the Swiss National Competence Centre of Research in Digital Fabrication (NCCR DFAB).
Johan Wijesinghe
Johan Wijesinghe is a designer and researcher educated at University College London and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. He is part of a London-based consultancy and has delivered projects across North America and Europe focused on mass timber, digital tooling, and regulatory adoption. Prior to his current role, he was at LEVER Architecture on the innovation team, advancing next-generation timber assemblies and decision tools—from prototype and testing through jurisdictional adoption—supported by $3M+ in external R&D. He collaborates with Escher GuneWardena Architecture, with selected clients include Google REWS, LACMA, and the University of Oregon. At ETH Zürich (2024–2025), he co-taught Architecture in Large Quantities with Gilles Retsin, a studio exploring prefabrication, the supply chains and business models that enable it, and AI-driven workflows.
Ewa Maciejewski
Ewa Maciejewski is an architect, educator, and communications professional. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture at the University of Cambridge, UK, and subsequently practised and taught architecture in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland. At the Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA), ETH Zurich, Ewa plans and executes communication activities and showcase events – including ITA’s open talks, annual conferences and symposia, corporate engagements, and public visits – and is also responsible for the promotion and management of ITA’s Architecture and Technology Doctoral Fellowship programme.