Weisses Schloss, Zürich

12 1890 1920 Heinrich Honegger-Näf, the architect, devised the first plans for the construction of Weisses Schloss in November of that year. He drew up the project plans and built the four-storey residen- tial complex in the metropolitan style at his own expense. On April 3 rd 1891, the local authority of Enge awarded planning permission for Weisses Schloss. From 1920 onwards, Weisses Schloss was adapted or converted at regular intervals. Garages were also added in the courtyard area. The commemorative journal celebrating the fiftieth anniversa- ry of the founding of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), formerly known as the Polytechnikum, contains the following reference to the construction: “[…] The building complex rests on the reclaimed lake-bed and, consequently, required some ambitious engineering in terms of its foundations. 2200 posts were driven into the silt and secured with rails; pebbles were then used as filler, on top of which came a layer of con- crete 1.5 m in height and between 1.5 m and 3 m in width. The granite plinth is laid on top of this.” 1930