Hansjürg Leibundgut is Professor of Building Services at the Institute of Building Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), and a partner in the company Amstein + Walthert in Zurich.
He is a member of the Technical Competence Center (TCC) of the Holcim Foundation.
Hansjürg Leibundgut studied mechanical engineering at the ETH Zurich, with the main focus of his studies on reactor technology and fluid dynamics. During his time as a scientific assistant at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, he became involved in the fields of solar technology and absorption technology. He concluded his time at the ETH with a dissertation on these two specialist subjects.
After four years' industrial experience in the R&D sector of absorption refrigeration technology, he transferred to Zurich's cantonal administration and was soon appointed to a senior position with responsibility for energy, air quality and technology in 1,500 public buildings.
In 1989, he returned to the private sector and became part-owner and senior engineer with Amstein + Walthert AG. Within this company, he developed the specialist areas of HLKSE (HVAC, plumbing and electricity = house technology), facility management, dynamic building simulation, etc. and supervised more than 100 projects for a wide variety of architects.
Due to a lack of suitable construction components, he developed various new products in conjunction with Swiss industrial partners.
He is in the process of building a model apartment block in Zurich that will combine unique new CO2-free technologies for heating and cooling systems and solar energy storage. Other innovations that will be the first of their kind in a private home in Switzerland include recycled waste water to generate heat; adaptable ventilation; and larger and more insular windows to cut down on artificial lighting.
Hansjürg Leibundgut was a member of the Holcim Awards jury for region Europe in 2005, region Asia Pacific in 2008, and the Global Holcim Awards jury in 2006. He was a member of the Academic Committee of the Holcim Forum 2007 in Shanghai, and moderated the workshop Reduce CO2 - With technology to zero emissions at the 3rd International Holcim Forum 2010 in Mexico City.
[last updated 12-Aug-10)