Email: foehn@arch.ethz.ch
Norbert Föhn, together with his office partner Stephan Bischof and Professor Dr. Silke Langenberg, leads the design studio of the Institute for Preservation and Construction History at the Department of Architecture (D-ARCH), ETH Zurich, starting in the fall semester of 2025.
Norbert Föhn is an architect MSc ETH Zurich and has been co-owner of the architectural office Bischof Föhn Architektur in Zurich since 2012. The office realizes public buildings, schools, and residential projects, with a particular focus on construction in historic and listed buildings. In parallel to his architectural practice, he was a research assistant at the Institute for Preservation and Construction History at ETH Zurich from 2008 to 2015, where he concentrated on issues of building preservation, construction and craftsmanship in research topics such as Appenzell timber-frame construction, Zurich master builders’ houses and the sustainable renovation of historic buildings. In between, he completed a civil service assignment as an architect for the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, in 2011, where he gained valuable international experience. During his studies, he worked as a teaching assistant at the IDB and gained practical experience through positions at Devanthéry & Lamunière in Geneva, Arriola y Fiol in Barcelona, and Diener & Diener Architekten in Basel. He graduated in 2008 with a diploma under Professor Christian Kerez at ETH Zurich, complemented by an exchange semester at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Beyond his architectural practice, he contributes as an expert in architectural juries and was a member of the board of the SIA FEB specialist group for the preservation of buildings from 2011 to 2021. His career reflects a strong interest in advancing approaches to building within the existing structures.