Entitled "Towards Bioclimatic Cities", the Forum des transitions urbaines will be held on September 12, 2025 in the Auditorium of Microcity, a branch of the EPFL in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). Organized jointly by the Ecoparc Association and the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) of the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in partnership with the journal TRACÉS, the biennial event will approach this crucial theme for our built environment from different angles. online registration

For Museum Night, Archizoom will be open from 2 p.m. to midnight! Under the theme “Turn on the light,” we have put together a special program for you: 2pm-midnight — Discover the Crossed Histories exhibition and two new installations: The archives revealed: Alice Biro, first graduate in architecture from EPFL & Jeanne Bueche, first graduate in architecture from ETHZ 2-9pm — My drawing in midnight blue, Cyanotype workshop 4, 6.30, 9pm — Guided tour of the exhibition More information on the Crossed Histories exhibition.

Born in the 1920s, critic Ada Louise Huxtable and architects Gae Aulenti and Phyllis Lambert were among the most influential figures in architecture and design during the postwar boom. Pioneers in a largely male-dominated field and key players in the transition from modernism to postmodernism, they set out to conquer the public spaces they designed and built. Through accounts, archival images, drawings and photographs, this exhibition sheds light on some of their emblematic achievements and interweaves their extraordinary biographies to rethink the crucial role of women in the history of 20th-century architecture. The three protagonists of this exhibition have contributed …

Born in the 1920s, critic Ada Louise Huxtable and architects Gae Aulenti and Phyllis Lambert were among the most influential figures in architecture and design during the postwar boom. Pioneers in a largely male-dominated field and key players in the transition from modernism to postmodernism, they set out to conquer the public spaces they designed and built. Through accounts, archival images, drawings and photographs, this exhibition sheds light on some of their emblematic achievements and interweaves their extraordinary biographies to rethink the crucial role of women in the history of 20th-century architecture. The three protagonists of this exhibition have contributed …

19.08.25 - The integration of predictive and generative artificial intelligence models into building design could well revolutionize architecture. This is what Christina Doumpioti explored in her PhD thesis at EPFL's Media x Design Laboratory. She summarizes her findings in a column published in three French-speaking dailies. Architecture is a creative practice – driven by intuition, imagination and the exploration of new ways to experience a space. Today, environmental and societal challenges are creating opportunities for integrating information into design. In my research at EPFL, I’m developing workflows that connect analytical thinking to creative exploration, supporting more informed design decisions. In …

12.08.25 - For her PhD in architecture at EPFL, Chloé Joly-Pottuz researched construction methods, and in particular those for timber structures on Easter Island. When people think about Easter Island, it’s probably for its majestic moai stone sculptures. It’s certainly not for the small community that lives there, although the island’s 8,600 residents face particularly challenging living conditions: volcanic soil that’s been stripped bare by deforestation, gusting winds and some 120,000 tourists who flock to the island each year. Scientists at EPFL’s Laboratory of Construction and Architecture, headed by Prof. Paolo Tombesi, have been studying Easter Island since 2018 for …

Water design is of major importance today. The risks associated with water and climate change are a cause of global concern. The number of projects dealing with water-related issues is virtually endless, so pervasive that they play the role of connectors among coalitions of different players, disciplines, performances and ways of thinking. Water Designs, the title of the exhibition, considers not only water as a topic, but the project that water itself designs, according to its rationalities, logics and behaviours. The water project is the one that shapes our territories and our living space over the longue durée. Water is …

‘Concrete: Cosmetic and Care’ focuses on a heavy heritage: the mass of mainly post-war structures in reinforced concrete. It is THEMA contribution to The Great Repair exhibition. The post-war building boom covered the globe with an unprecedented amount of concrete. Production of every ton of cement alone releases 600 kg of carbon dioxide making the construction industry a substantial emitter of greenhouse gases. Much work in the post-war era focuses on the preservation challenges for iconic brutalist structures. Here instead, the aim is to strategize the maintenance and repair of reinforced concrete as ubiquitous, unspectacular, and unloved and raise awareness …

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.