ENAC news about education

“It's often better to choose simple solutions over complicated ones”

Published:09.02.24 — 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.

Testing automated crack-detection methods for concrete

Published:10.01.24 — MASTER'S PROJECT – An EPFL Master’s student in civil engineering has evaluated the effectiveness of new computer-based methods for inspecting potentially dangerous cracks in concrete. 

“There's room in Swiss agriculture for greater biodiversity”

Published:13.12.23 — This year’s UNIL-EPFL Durabilis Awards went to two Master’s projects addressing sustainability in the food industry. Both winners – Agathe Crosnier (EPFL – SSIE) and Nicolas Bissardon (UNIL) – came up with fresh ideas for producing and consuming food in a more environmentally responsible way.

What will the Grande Dixence region look like 200 years from now?

Published:07.12.23 — MASTER'S PROJECT – An EPFL architecture student explored what the area around the Grande Dixence dam in Valais Canton might look like in 2223, drawing on scientific data to shed light on the long-term implications of environmental change.

Physics sheds light on the study of architecture

Published:06.12.23 — Andreas Schüler, an expert in specialty materials for solar energy conversion, is this year’s winner of both the PolySphère award for best teacher at EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) and the PolySphère d’Or award for best teacher at EPFL. The awards are given out by EPFL students, who selected Schüler for his outstanding teaching in his Building Physics class. 

New, sustainable structures installed at three iconic sites in Geneva

Published:18.10.23 — EPFL architecture students have designed lightweight structures made from recycled wood and earth for three public spaces in Geneva: Parc Rigot; the entrance to Parc des Feuillantines; and the gardens of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.

“The main benefit is that we all learned to speak the same language”

Published:20.09.23 — The Integrated Design Architecture and Sustainability (IDEAS) program offers an interdisciplinary minor, PhD seminars and networking opportunities for PhD students from affiliated laboratories. Now, ten years on from its launch, we reflect on how this fast-growing initiative has evolved and hear from past participants.

Trees are not always a miracle cure for improving air quality

Published:14.08.23 — MASTER'S PROJECT – Donato Kofel has quantified the positive and negative effects of trees on outdoor air quality in Geneva Canton. His method can be used by city planners to design their large-scale planting programs more effectively.

How to make an on-demand bus network viable

Published:31.07.23 — MASTER'S PROJECT – For her EPFL Master’s project in civil engineering, Gaelle Abi Younes examined why on-demand buses have met with only limited success. She used technical and financial models to show how they could become a genuine alternative to cars in outlying areas.

“The people were incredibly welcoming, but they're still rebuilding”

Published:26.07.23 — Aline Bönzli and Caroline Heitmann headed to Croatia to help assess two buildings damaged by a devastating earthquake in December 2020.

“My work outside the classroom increases my credibility"

Published:11.07.23 — Aurelio Muttoni was recently named best teacher in the civil engineering section at EPFL for 2022. In reality, he has only one foot in the lecture hall: the other is in the field, as he’s also a partner in two engineering firms. In his view, this dual role bring benefits for both his students and his business associates.

Does exoticism in music still exist?

Published:10.07.23 — STUDENT PROJECT – For their project “The Armenian presence at the Montreux Jazz Festival – A study of the Tigran Hamasyan Quintet concert in 2014”, Léandre Guy and Basile Tornare explored what exoticism means in music and the limits of genres.

Temporary structures can help find lasting solutions

Published:25.04.23 — In this column, published in three local dailies, Camille Fauvel explains how temporary structures can help us observe how people use public spaces. Fauvel, a lecturer in architecture at ENAC, cites a project carried out by EPFL students on Lake Geneva.

Students want to invite the ocean on EPFL campus

Published:10.03.23 — To build awareness about the importance of oceans, Sailowtech, a student association, has launched a project to develop low-tech methods for collecting data at sea. The methods will be tested during a sailing expedition around the North Atlantic Ocean. Various EPFL labs are also involved.

Sleeping together: Examining dormitories as architectural types

Published:25.01.23 — A recent publication explores the unique history of dormitories from the Middle Ages to present day. Drawing on a corpus spanning everything from submarines to mountain huts, the authors examine the fine balance between the need for privacy and the function of dormitories as collective spaces, and reflect on the implications for contemporary challenges.

5 Master's theses awarded on adaptation to climate change

Published:14.12.22 — The 2022 Durabilis prize list brings together individual works on different ways of dealing with global warming, from a technological point of view on the EPFL side and a cultural point of view on the UNIL side. Summary of their work and comments from the jury.

Urban planning helps mitigate extreme weather effects in Haut-Valais

Published:30.11.22 — MASTER'S PROJECT – Olivier Lalancette, an EPFL Master’s student in architecture, has come up with some development proposals for the Brig-Visp-Naters conurbation. His suggestions, relatively modest in scope, could help these cities better withstand the droughts and heavy rainfall that are expected to intensify by 2050. Lalancette hopes his study will start a conversation about the region’s future.

More soil, less concrete: changing mindsets in construction

Published:29.09.22 — MASTER'S PROJECT – For his master’s project, architecture student Jeremy Morris assessed the life cycle of building materials in Vaud Canton. His research shows that the construction industry could shrink its carbon footprint by making more regular use of soil. Morris proposes three courses of action, which he will present at the Quinzaine de l’Urbanisme.

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.

Preventing heat islands is a priority for the future of our cities

Published:15.08.22 — Two EPFL Master’s students carried out meticulous research on heat islands, or densely packed urban areas with features that can aggravate high temperatures during heat waves, posing a serious threat to vulnerable residents.