Improgineering ‒ Instant-Lab ‐ EPFL

Collective creation : improvised arts and engineering

Improgineering is a course developed by Prof. Simon Henein within EPFL’s Social and Human Sciences (SHS) program, in cooperation with the Arsenic Theater (Centre d’art scénique contemporain) in Lausanne.

A Pedagogical Research project and an Artistic Research project are associated with the Improgineering course.

Video of the public presentation made by the 24 students of the 1st edition of the Improgineering course on 23.5.2018, ARSENIC, Rue de Genève57, Lausanne.

Videos produced by the 25 students of the 3rd edition of the Improgineering course (May 2020). Since the course shifted online this particular year, the public performances have been replaced by the production of collectively tele-improvised videos.

A bridge to the humanities

In 2017 Prof. Henein initiated a new course bridging the Engineering and Humanities faculties at EPFL: Collective Creation: Improvised Arts and Engineering4 (Improgineering). This year-long course, launched in September 2017, is part of EPFL’s Social and Human Sciences (SHS) pro- gram. It is open to all first-year Master’s students, with classes held once a week throughout the academic year. The course was developed in cooperation with the Centre d’art scénique contemporain (ARSENIC) in Lausanne, a well-known incubator of contemporary performing arts.

The course examines the creative processes in science, engineering and the performing arts. During the first semester, workshops explore improvisation in the performing arts. Additional lectures cover the dramaturgy and sociology of improvisation, improvisation in engineering design and creativity in science.

During the second semester, students work in groups towards an improvised performance based on physical artifacts they have created, the goal being to explore creativity in engineering and improvisation. The students are coached by several performance artists from the ARSENIC theater who give them creative support. The course culminates with a final examination con- sisting of a public performance evaluated by a jury.

The first edition of the course led to a Video Clip presenting the course, a joint EPFL-ARSENIC Press Release and the publication of a Collective Booklet presenting the course from the teachers’ as well as from the students’ points of view.

Professor Henein emphasizes collaborative work : “Collectively, our creative potential is huge – much greater than that of each one of us individually – but to fully tap into it, we have to be able to create together. That’s why this class delves so deeply into this skill, which will be crucial in the students’ future careers. We look at intuition, expression, listening, trust and self-reflection. The students are exposed to a wide range of approaches to the creative process, from the hard sciences to engineering and stage performance. All these influences will play a part in their professional work.”

Performing art improvisation techniques for mechanical engineering design teaching and learning. (Simon Henein) Online lecture presented at the IGM Colloquium (Institute of Mechanical Engineering, EPFL) on December 1st, 2020.

Un pont vers les humanités

Le nouveau cours « Création collective : arts-improvisés et ingénierie » intégré au programme Sciences Humaines et Sociales (SHS) de l’EPFL, a été élaboré par Prof. Simon Henein, en collaboration avec le Centre d’art scénique contemporain de Lausanne (Arsenic). L’enseignement initie les étudiants aux techniques d’improvisation développées dans les arts vivants (théâtre, musique, danse, performance) et interroge leur possible transposition aux pratiques de conception de l’ingénierie. Les processus créatifs collectifs étudiés sont mis en œuvre au travers d’un projet qui aboutit à une présentation publique sur la scène de l’Arsenic. Les performances improvisées par les étudiants intègrent leurs réalisations techniques, révélant ainsi les polarités et articulations entre leur présence physique et celle de leurs artefacts.

Présentations publiques des étudiants du cours EPFL-ARSENIC “Création collective : arts improvisés et ingénierie”
Présentation générale: mercredi 15 mai 2019 de 19h30 à 21h15
Présentation finale: mercredi 22 mai 2019, performances de 19h30 à 21h15, table ronde avec le jury de 21h30 à 22h00
ARSENIC, Salle “LABO”, Rue de Genève 57, Lausanne
Entrée libre avec réservation obligatoire en raison du nombre de places limité.

Annonce Présentation Improgineering 15 et 22 mai 2019 (PDF)

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Jury 2020

Kim Bachmann, Dessinatrice

Julia Bierent, Etudiante EPFL et vidéaste

Jacques Bouduban, Musicien

Alain Bovet, Sociologue

Nazario Branca, Architecte

Christina Burkholter, Philosophe

Felix Grimberg, Etudiant EPFL en mathématiques

Alexandra Macdonald, Danseuse

Nicolas Meyer, Cameraman et vidéaste

Etienne Thalmann, Doctorant EPFL en microtechinque

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Jury 2019

Marilyne Andersen
Professeure EPFL, Laboratoire de performance intégrée au design

Pierre Dillenbourg
Professeur EPFL, Laboratoire d’ergonomie éducative

Christophe Jaquet
Metteur en scène, The National Institute

Ivan Pittalis
Directeur adjoint de l’Arsenic

Nicole Seiler
Chorégraphe, Compagnie Nicole Seiler

Lucie Perrotta
Etudiante EPFL en Systèmes de communication, ancienne étudiante Improgineering

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Jury 2018

Isabelle Bouhet
comédienne et metteure en scène

Danielle Chaperon
professeure à la faculté des lettres de l’Université
de Lausanne et directrice du Centre d’études théâtrales

Gisou van der Goot
doyenne de la faculté des sciences de la vie à l’EPFL

Laure Kloetzer
professeure assistante en psychologie socioculturelle à l’Université de Neuchâtel

Susanne Martin
Ph.D. des Universités de Northampton et Middlesex, danseuse, chorégraphe et artiste de performance

Patrick de Rham
directeur de l’Arsenic

Nicolas Weibel
directeur de Greene, Tweed & Co. (Suisse) SA
(conception et fabrication de pièces haute-performance en composites)
Ph.D. de l’EPFL en science et génie des matériaux

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The video of the related Microgineering course tough by Prof. Simon Henein to the Microengineering Bachelor students reveals the underlying links between the creative processes of improvised arts and those of engineering design.