The laboratory investigates the processes of representing scientific thought by way of figurative tools offered by the artistic disciplines. in the fields of architecture and engineering, the expressive arts are integral to the development and execution of each project, from the moment ideas and concepts take shape to when forms eventually find a framework stable enough to outlast the transitory condition of their construction. Since its foundation in 2013, LAPIS has been actively involved
in the study of the typological classification of architecture.
In particular, it has carried out extensive research into the elements and characteristics of bourgeois and rural buildings in the Alpine environment. This comprehensive study of Swiss architectural heritage inevitably delves into the most critical condition that characterises vernacular buildings today; that of abandonment. This critical condition becomes the premise of LAPIS design studios, inviting the students to critically project the recolonization of neglected Alpine areas.