The Composite City Lifting research project offers an innovative solution for densification by raising buildings using a system of modules allowing the creation of different types of living spaces.
The Composite City Lifting system is designed in a modular and hybrid way, so that existing buildings can be heightened, adapting to a wide variety of situations. The interdisciplinary approach is based on the combinatory of large prefabricated elements, which allow building several types of spaces dedicated to housing. The typical unit is a duplex with a series of rooms on the lower level and a large day area on the upper floor.
The rooms’ floor is made of a series of three-dimensional wooden elements, which extend from facade to facade. These combine the roles of structure and separation between the rooms. In addition, they include, in their thickness, service spaces such as sanitary, dressing and technical space. The upper floor benefits from the use of static performance of composite materials. The result is a large open space, which includes the kitchen, the dining area, the living room and a terrace under one same roof. This roof is made up of a specific assembly of sandwich panels combining glass fibers, balsa and PET.
In addition to structural and material issues, the design of this housing unit also incorporates bioclimatic architectural principles and natural lighting devices, to ensure an optimal comfort for users.
The approach has led to the development of an innovative and worked-out concept at the architectural, structural, technological, and constructive level which offers the possibility of a concrete implementation.
Research Partners
Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab) , Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design (LIPID), Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne.
Private Partners
Renggli (Sursee), Colevo (Sins), Bauart Architectes (Bern/Neuchâtel/Zürich), Makiol + Wiederkehr Holzbau-Ingenieure (Beinwil am See), Ernst Basler & Partner Energie/Haustechnik (Zürich), Bakus Bauphysik & Akustik (Zürich)
Research Team LAST
Prof. Emmanuel Rey, Aleksis Dind
Funding
Empa, Dübendorf