EPFL FRIBOURG

Since 2014 the EPFL Fribourg has been housed at the Smart Living Lab, a research and development center for the future of the built environment, in the bluefactory innovation district. Construction of the building for the Smart Living Lab is set to begin in the coming years in Fribourg. The building will be at the cutting edge of efficient resource use over its complete life cycle. Its construction comes 30 years in advance of Switzerland’s 2050 energy targets.

Smart Living Lab

The Smart Living Lab brings together the combined expertise of EPFL, the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, and the University of Fribourg in research areas such as construction technologies, well-being and behaviors, interactions and design processes, and energy systems. It conducts interdisciplinary research projects through experiments in real conditions involving both researchers and companies. This allows partners from the private, public and academic sectors who are interested in developing innovative projects access to excellent research facilities available at the heart of the Switzerland Innovation Park Network West EPFL.

Structural Xploration Lab – SXL

Prof. Corentin Fivet

Laboratory of Construction and Architecture – FAR

Prof. Paolo Tombesi

Laboratory of Integrated Comfort Engineering – ICE

Prof. Dolaana Khovalyg

Human-Oriented Built Environment Lab – HOBEL

Prof. Dusan Licina

ETHOS Lab

Prof. Andrew Sonta

Building2050 Group

Dr. Sergi Aguacil

The Re:Crete footbridge awarded by 'Booster du Réemploi'

Published:21.09.22 — The Re:Crete footbridge was awarded a mention in the 'Trophées Bâtiments Circulaires' this Tuesday September 20th in Paris. The award falls in the 'hors-cadre' category and is given for the footbridge's technical challenge. The 'Trophées Bâtiments Circulaires' is a competition organized by the 'Booster du réemploi', with support from Construction21. Its aim is to promote exemplary circular buildings. Developed at the Structural Xploration Lab, the Re:Crete footbridge is an arch made of reclaimed pieces of cast-in-place concrete walls. It is installed and used since this Spring in Conthey, Wallis.

Cool Modular Pavilion, a convivial response to extreme heat

Published:31.08.22 — A mobile wooden construction has been installed for two months on the perimeter of the EPFL's Campus Piéton project. This microclimate demonstrator, developed at the Smart Living Lab in Fribourg by two institutes of the Fribourg School of Engineering and Architecture (HEIA-FR), allows a didactic immersion in some solutions to fight against heat islands. With the advantage of offering a welcome space to meet outside.

rebuiLT, or how to rebuild a house sustainably

Published:16.08.22 — The Low-Tech Lab in Lausanne has been part of the Unipoly association of EPFL since 2021 and aims to popularize the low-tech approach already found in several other European universities. Its showcase project rebuiLT is one of EFPL’s interdisciplinary MAKE projects and seeks to reuse parts of a building being demolished to create a community pavilion in Ecublens.

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