Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
Switzerland's largest arts university traces its roots to an 1878 craft school — and the building it inherited still houses the Museum of Design.
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ZHdK brings together design, music, theatre, film, and dance under one institution born from a 2007 merger. The original school building, designed by architects Adolf Steger and Karl Egender, now doubles as the Museum of Design, Zurich, making the applied-arts collection inseparable from the campus. The affiliated Theater der Künste and Mehrspur Music Club extend ZHdK beyond the classroom into live performance and music.
What to look for
- The Steger & Egender building that serves both as university campus and home to the Museum of Design, Zurich
- Theater der Künste (Theatre of the Arts), ZHdK's on-site performance venue
The Museum of Design, Zurich is the most publicly accessible part of the ZHdK complex — check its hours separately before visiting.
Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Zurich, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Zurich pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Zurich
- LetzigrundOn this track, on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary became the first person in history to run 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.
- Zürich HauptbahnhofSwitzerland's largest station runs 2,915 trains a day — and a river flows through it in a tunnel, with tracks both above and below.
- GrossmünsterThe church where Zwingli launched the Swiss-German Reformation in 1520 — and then his followers stripped out the organ and every statue to prove the point.
- Zürich Opera HouseThe first electrically lit opera house in Europe — built in 16 months, nearly razed by street riots, and winner of Opera Company of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
- Cabaret VoltaireHugo Ball borrowed a back room on Spiegelgasse in February 1916 and accidentally invented Dada — Lenin was renting a flat fourteen doors up the same street.
- Kunsthaus ZürichTwo buildings on opposite sides of Heimplatz, linked underground, housing one of Switzerland's most important art collections — the 2021 David Chipperfield sandstone block alone added over 80% more floor space.