The public lecture series Mud on the Floor looks at methods for studying construction sites. Although construction is required for architecture and cities to be built, it can be notably absent from scholarship. There are a few institutional reasons for this (architectural history developing as a subset of art history, for example) but also structural reasons for it: as ephemeral, chaotic, and literally dirt-y sites, construction can challenge our neat scholarly frames and methods. The presentations will be from architects, historians, and anthropologists. The series encourages that we as scholars spend more time in the field or in the archives …

Walk & Round Table Take a fresh look at Lausanne West on the occasion of the Voisinage-de-10-minutes exhibition at EPFL. During a guided walk, you will discover if and how your municipality is already implementing the principles of 10-minute neighbourhoods and what potential can still be exploited. The walk takes place on Monday 25 November at 4 p.m. in Renens, Place de la Gare, south side, in front of the entrance to the old station building. The walk will be followed by a round-table discussion during which experts and local players will highlight the opportunities and challenges of this innovative …

Date: 4 December 2024 Time: 17:15 - 18:45 Introductions by Dean Katrin Beyer and Prof. Pier Vittorio Aureli (Director of the Institute of Architecture and the City). Lecture by Prof. Franz Graf. Conclusion by Prof. Nicolas Grandjean (appointed EPFL Associate Vice Presidency for Education as of January 2025). Followed by an Apero. Place: CE1 4 Live stream: https://mediaspace.epfl.ch/media/Honorary+Lecture+prof.+Franz+Graf/0_tgzhiot8 Title: A propos de la sauvegarde et des techniques de l’architecture moderne et contemporaine. Abstract La conférence se structure sous forme de considérations sur la « sauvegarde » de l’architecture, partant de sa définition et de la place importante qu’elle prend dans …

15.11.24 - Curbing new-build construction, renovating existing buildings at pace and rethinking how we use them: according to Philippe Thalmann, an urban and environmental economics professor at EPFL, these are the steps we’ll need to take to both meet climate targets and accommodate an ever-growing population. How can we make sure everyone has a decent roof over their head in the future? This question is more pressing than ever given the demographic, economic, climate and environmental challenges we face. Addressing them will require fundamental shifts in just about every sector of the economy, including construction. Our living habits will need …

12.11.24 - How can the banks of the Rhône be developed in a sustainable and resilient way? That’s the question posed by Sara Formery, architect and postdoctoral researcher at EPFL’s Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), in this column published in four daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. Cities and rivers share a deeply intertwined, rich history marked by alternating cycles of proximity and distance. Following a long period in which urban watercourses were disregarded, many people are now exploring opportunities for reconnection and renewal. Picking up on this theme, a PhD student at EPFL’s Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable …

29.10.24 - EPFL PhD student Maxence Grangeot questions current practices aimed at reducing concrete's carbon footprint in this column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. Concrete is a source of controversy and various research, since it is the second-most widely used substance on the planet after water. Much of concrete’s environmental impact comes from cement, its key ingredient whose production accounts for around 8% of world CO2 emissions. Gravel is another important ingredient of concrete, produced by heavily extractive processes and that often results from rock crushing. A valuable “liquid stone,” concrete is used extensively in our walls, …

22.10.24 - In the future, buildings will provide enhanced, more personalized comfort to occupants while also achieving zero carbon emissions. This will be possible thanks to advances in sensors and AI, enabling new ways of interacting with our environments while leaving ultimate control in occupants’ hands. Yet, as users, we’ll also need to make lasting changes to our habits. The construction industry – the second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter and the biggest end user of energy – is shaping a new future, driven by technological innovation and the response to climate change. Buildings have long been viewed as passive structures, but …

07.10.24 - An exhibition and research conducted by the Laboratory of History and Theories of Architecture, Technology and Media (HITAM), directed by Alfredo Thiermann and integrated by Pedro Correa, Ella Neumaier, and Xavier Nueno, presented at the Centro Cultural La Moneda, Santiago, Chile. Chilehaus: Atacama / Hamburgo by Alfredo Thiermann, Pedro Correa, Ella Neumaier, Xavier Nueno September 27, 2024–January 25, 2025 Centro Cultural La Moneda, Santiago, Chile Exhibiting a vast and previously unseen collection of archival material gathered between Germany and Chile, Atacama / Hamburgo examines the relationship between a monumental and emblematic building built in the city of Hamburg—the …

24.09.24 - Initiative and exhibition supported by the Prefecture of the Île-de-France region - DRIEAT, the City of Paris and the Paris Council of Architecture, Town Planning and the Environment, the HRC (Habitat Research Center) EPFL research laboratory, and presented at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris from 26 September to 27 October 2024. From September 26 to October 27, 2024, the Pavillon de l’Arsenal will host the exhibition "An Atlas of Landscapes for Paris." This exhibition showcases the results of an ambitious project that explores the distinctive characteristics of the capital’s landscapes. The exhibition, "An Atlas of Landscapes for …

En aval du lac Léman, la ville de Genève profite d'une situation unique dans l'Arc lémanique. Le resserrement des rives du lac forme une rade que la ville structure jusqu'à reformer le Rhône qui devient alors son émissaire. Ce coeur liquide, ou temenos, selon la formulation d'André Corboz, est ancré dans la culture genevoise comme l'un des symboles majeurs de la ville. Depuis la fin du XIXe siècle, la rade entame une mutation de sa condition portuaire vers un espace de détente qu'elle peine à devenir. Ce projet a pour vocation de sortir les quais de la crise identitaire qu'ils …

A multi-purpose log building program La seconde partie du semestre a consisté au développement d’une proposition collective de projet, composée des éléments identifiés lors de la première phase. L’atelier agit alors dans un intérêt commun, divisé en groupes thématiques, mais collectivement engagé dans la production d’une proposition unitaire et rationnelle à toutes les échelles. En étudiant le projet de la plus petite à la plus grande échelle, cette seconde partie a été aussi l’occasion de pousser l’étude de la construction jusqu’à la réalisation d'prototype à l’échelle 1/1. - The second part of the semester consisted in developing a collective project …

L’architecture continue grâce aux proclamations consécutives de sa fin. Ce numéro de matières veut examiner comment ce mécanisme a fonctionné et continue de fonctionner. Faire référence à la terminaison de l’architecture est toujours une redéfinition de sa fin dans l’autre sens du terme: son but, son sens, sa finalité. Cette fin n’est possible que parce qu’il n’y a pas de consensus sur ce qu’est réellement l’architecture, ni sur quoi elle mène. Que se passe-t-il lorsque l’architecture se termine? Ce qu’on entendait par le mot architecture n’existe plus, ou n’est plus jugé suffisant, et se transforme, pour le meilleur ou pour …

This semester we asked ourselves why not letting water leak beyond romantic reasons and reintroduce it into the public space. We will started by looking at what we have and capture the multi-layered past of the site, its complex ecology, its projected futurism in order to build on it. We let the water draw itself, on and through the existing enviroment, following its own logic. We looked at water as a common ressource that can activate civic spaces as much as it is activated by the public.

EPFL architecture graduates, Vincent Digneaux, Solène Guisan and Vincent Kastl, were crowned winners of the Sustainable is Beautiful student architecture prize for their modular footbridge over the Chamberonne river. Designing the structure, which serves as both a crossing and a meeting place, gave them their first taste of life as an architect. Several years ago, the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) at EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) launched Sustainable is Beautiful, a competition run in partnership with public and private organizations involved in green-transition projects, to help equip budding architects for their future role.

WINNER OF THE 2023 RIBA CHARLES JENCKS AWARD

The Dogma practice, founded in 2002 by Pier Vittorio Aureli, associate professor at the EPFL Architecture Department (ENAC), and Martino Tattara, has been awarded the prestigious Charles Jencks 2023 Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Created in 2003 to reward an individual (or office) who has recently made a major contribution to both the theory and practice of architecture, this prestigious prize has distinguished architects such as Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron over the years.

Housing is a major contributor to Switzerland's carbon footprint and energy consumption, but it is also a basic need. Research on climate change mitigation strategies has so far paid insufficient attention to households' preferences and their contribution to housing sustainability. Depicting residential preferences requires an understanding of the multilevel, context-specific, and interrelated determinants of the match between households and dwellings, which are made explicit in the residential mobility process.