Chocolate Factory

The Image of Chocolate research is led by Nicole McIntosh and Jonathan Louie of Architecture Office. The research was first undertaken at University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture, as the Hyde Chair of Excellence. In this capacity Nicole and Jonathan taught graduate design studios and research seminars that focus on the analysis of chocolate factories across Switzerland.

Established in 1986, the Hyde Chair of Excellence allows the College of Architecture to attract visiting faculty of national and international distinction. The Hyde Chair of Excellence position is available to designers, architects, and educators from a variety of backgrounds with outstanding and unique credentials.

In Switzerland, chocolate and chocolatiers connect the four languages (French, German, Italian, Romansch) and many cantons (regions) that make up the country. For example, Cailler, the oldest surviving company was founded by François-Louis Cailler (b. 1769) in the French speaking town Vevey, Switzerland; and in 1845 David Sprüngli-Schwartz (b. 1776) founded by David Sprüngli & Son (now known as Confeserie Sprüngli), the first chocolate manufacturer in German-speaking Zurich. With the rise of Swissness as a neologism in the late 1990’s, chocolate factories became attractive for their image of chocolate production as much as the consumption of the product itself. Since the 2010’s some chocolate companies began converting factories into places for attracting and educating tourists on the making of chocolate. For example, in 2022 Lindt and Sprüngli opened the “Lindt House of Chocolate” a museum on their factory campus in Kilchberg (designed by Christ and Gantenbein). And in Broc, Cailler will open the “Cailler Park” the first chocolate theme park in 2025. Even the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) runs a special Chocolate Train - complete with special confections and chocolate Gipfeli (croissants) – that whisks passengers on a magical ride with stops at factories and confesseries in charming villages around the alpine countryside. Throughout Switzerland the innovations to building program and structure continue to evolve, and their adaptive reuse makes the experience of chocolate enjoyable over and over again.