Documentary traces of its construction, planning, and evolution through the holdings of the Archives de la construction moderne
- Coming soon:
- Des Cèdres à Dorigny. Bâtir l’école d’architecture, the first programme of the new ACM space at Archizoom. From 3 March 2026, Archizoom
The nearly two hundred collections preserved at the Archives de la construction moderne (ACM) originate from architects, engineers, and professionals active in the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction. In most cases, these archives were not created to document the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne or its predecessors, but rather to preserve traces of professional practices related to design, construction sites, planning, research, or teaching.
However, some creators have been associated with the history of the school as teachers, students, experts, planners, or observers of its transformations. This involvement appears in their collections in varying ways, ranging from extensive documentary sets to occasional traces. Through cross-referencing, these traces thus make it possible to document the locations occupied by the institution, the projects that accompanied it, and the processes that contributed to the construction and evolution of its campus.
Jakob ZWEIFEL
Planning and construction of the new EPFL campus in Ecublens: successive master plans, technical reports for the 1st and 2nd phases, specifications, preliminary design studies, plans (circulation diagrams, outdoor layouts, infrastructure), competition models, photographs…
Guiding planning (online)
Guiding planning (1971–1976) establishing a structured framework for the development and expansion of the campus, integrating architectural, organizational, and environmental aspects. In the Zweifel collection and online on MorphéPlus.
Guido COCCHI
Reports and master plans for EPFL and UNIL from 1967 onwards, site studies in Ecublens, federal messages, CUS reports, traffic studies and assessments, BUD files on shared facilities including the Sports Centre, technical documentation on campus buildings, and EPFL competition files for various sectors.
Henri GERMOND
Aerial and ground-level photographs of the EPFL campus between 1981 and 1997, documenting construction sites, completed buildings, infrastructure and extensions, as well as the construction of the Microtechnology building, the Space Center and the telecommunications tower. The collection also includes photographs of models, the TSOL station and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Bernard VOUGA
Documentation and photographs relating to the second phase of development of the EPFL campus between 1979 and 1984, including views of construction sites and the site itself, general views of the campus, as well as a set of photographs of models, simulations, project perspectives and design documents. Previews available online.
Vincent MANGEAT
Documents relating to competitions and urban planning for the EPFL campus between 1980 and 2001, including competition files for a school and the North District, as well as the neighbourhood plan for the EPFL Science Park, with overall plans, sections, studies, sketches, renderings and plan indexes.
Pierre FORETAY
Documents relating to EPUL and EPFL between 1962 and 1984, including a diploma project on a school of architecture in Ecublens, site expansion projects, plans and correspondence, institutional studies, documents on the transfer to Ecublens, and a study on the use of solar energy for the second phase of the campus.
Rodolphe LUSCHER
Documents relating to EPFL projects and infrastructure, including correspondence, minutes and studies on the EPFL Tunnel, presentation files for the Communications Building, housing competitions for students and academic guests, EPFL competition portfolios, and documents related to the second phase of the Ecublens site.
Other collections
Other collections preserved at the ACM may contain documentary traces related to the history of the campus. These sets can be identified and explored through the online Morphé database, which provides access to detailed descriptions of collections and files.