ABSTRACT
Many factors contributed to the early success of glue-laminated timber (glulam) in Switzerland following its introduction in 1908. A strongly interconnected network of established players was decisive for the early acceptance and development of such a recent building material. Within this network, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) played a decisive role through their early and broad involvement. In the formation of a new practice, they simultaneously represented a wide range of institutions. This paper discusses the role of the SBB in the development of early glulam in Switzerland between 1910–1945. The agency of the SBB will be analyzed here across two levels: the material practice of glulam, i.e., the construction of the material on the one hand, and the social construct of it, i.e., the construction of the material culture on the other. Based on archival material documenting the design process and construction phases of SBB buildings, this demonstrates how a productive network was formed through the agency of SBB and which relationships were crucial to its existence.
