Virtual time travel – a tour through an early 20th-century chemistry laboratory

Stirring, shaking, grinding, pipetting – experience the history of chemistry and research from over 100 years ago during an impressive virtual tour of the last semi-preserved chemistry laboratory at ETH Zurich circa 1900.

Reconstructed using historical images and floor plans from the collections and archives of ETH Zurich and the ETH Library, this laboratory dedicated to organic chemistry – together with all its inventory and laboratory equipment – has been recreated true to the original for this virtual adventure tour. The great hall is the only semi-preserved laboratory in the building. Planned in 1886 by the professors of architecture Alfred F. Bluntschli and Georg Lasius in collaboration with two chemistry professors, it was the first building in Zurich to feature exposed bricks. However, over the years the impressive hall was remodelled and repurposed on several occasions. Today, it serves students as a study area.

Time travel to go

The journey to the previous millennium can be embarked on either remotely or on-site. A VR headset (e.g. Oculus Quest), a smartphone, tablet or PC is all you need to experience in virtual reality the conditions under which scientific research was conducted at the dawn of the 20th century.

Three separate 360° panoramic views allow you to take in the historic laboratory. Each panorama is enriched with audio commentary and information points that provide interesting details on a variety of topics:

• The history and architecture of the listed building and of the history of chemistry at ETH Zurich
• Teaching of, and research into, coal-tar dyes, an important field in the 19th century
• Remodelling and repurposing of the laboratory
• Current use of the space

The virtual tour was developed in collaboration with an employee of the Chair of Building Archaeology and Construction History and the companies external pageikonautcall_made and external pageLUDICcall_made.