Venturing Permanence - The ETH House of Science in Bamiyan

Bamiyan, Afghanistan, is inseparably connected to the devastating destruction of the Buddha-statues by the Taliban in 2001. However, in Bamiyan there is also a university, a place of perspectives and hope, located in this crisis affected region. For this university the three architects Ivica Brnic', Florian Graf and Wolfgang Rossbauer erected the House of Science of the ETH Zurich, a centre for studies and encounter, in 2006. The book records the building six years after its opening, tells the story of this cultural transfer and discusses the role of architecture in the context of international interventions in areas of conflict.