The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre – or CSCS, a branch of Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich) – has opened in Lugano. Boasting petaflop speeds and petabyte capacities, the Centre’s range of supercomputers provide unmatched capability to model complex systems and resolve challenging questions in fields as diverse as climate, astronomy, materials science, chemistry, brain science and physics.
As part of its move, the CSCS approached Ander Group to give its Web presence the same power as its technology, along with the same open, spacious feel as its new headquarters. The Centre clearly has a lot to explain about itself: its capabilities, technology, staff, projects, plans… yet the information needs to appear as clearly and directly as possible. Our challenge was to integrate all of this into a logical, easily administered, attractive site that would also fit into the wider identity of the ETH. This included:
· Rationalising the content-management structure to ensure straightforward content creation, distribution, and updating
· Designing a fully responsive website, easy to read and navigate on any access device
· Delivering full multi-language capability, entirely manageable by the client
· Ensuring compatibility with all modern browsers
· Creating templates to extend a clean, modern Swiss design to every area of the website.
Our approach to the task was to condense the site’s complex functionality into a clear, logical layout, following our mantra of “simplexity.” There are only five basic templates, but they accommodate the full range of user and content types. Public visitors navigate the main CSCS site, while staff and professional users have access to a specialist portal. It all looks clear and simple, yet the most detailed information is only one or two clicks away.
VISIT THE WEBSITE
