Our story
Architecture and design
Using natural raw materials, Eternit develops innovative and sustainable products for the design of building envelopes and living spaces.
Inspiring great designers like Max Bill, Le Corbusier and Haefeli Moser Steiger, as well as Herzog & de Meuron, Rafael Viñoly and Morphosis, we’ve always fostered a shared drive for sophisticated design and an interest in exploring new possibilities.
Eternit’s fibre cement roof panel from over 100 years ago was adapted into a new shape for the first time as a flower box, before then being used as a façade panel, and then eventually being applied to hand-crafted design objects and planters.
Will Guhl: pioneer of today’s Garden and Design Collections
When Swiss design legend Will Guhl was enlisted by Eternit to design garden products in the early 1950s, no one knew that he would end up creating not just one, but several design classics.
While fibre cement panels were already used elsewhere for architecture, Guhl was fascinated by its properties. Exploring the material’s malleability while it was drying, as well as its thinness that still yielded stability once fully dried, his first sketches back then laid the foundations for today’s Garden and Design Collections.
Will Guhl was also enthusiastic about the material’s ability to develop a wonderful patina over time.
Fibre cement: inspiration for design
The great freedom in design that Guhl discovered with fibre cement went on to inspire later generations of designers.
In 2009, the Tetris Shelf, designed by Kevin Fries and Jakob Zumbühl, received the Red Dot Design Award.
Garden architect Patrick Schöni used the material to design the sculptural AladinPlanter. Julia von Sponeck’s work with fibre cement reinterpreted the Garden Chair. And designer Nicolas le Moigne from western Switzerland introduced his ECAL Stool at the Design Prize Switzerland 2008.
Collaborating with some of the most interesting contemporary designers from Switzerland and around the world forms an essential part of Eternit (Schweiz) AG’s company culture. Representing a shared delight in good design, these collaborations are also serious examinations into the unique qualities of fibre cement.
Designing living spaces with Eternit
In addition to designing buildings and interiors, designing outdoor spaces is becoming increasingly important, with focus shifting towards beautifully timeless, functional and weather-resistant design for outside spaces – be that a terrace, garden, public space or pedestrian area.
Fibre cement combines substance with aesthetics, helping Eternit pieces serve as perfect design elements.
