Category: Actu
Lionel Sofia awarded EPFL prize for teaching
During the Magistrale graduation ceremony, Lionel Sofia was awarded the School of Engineering Polysphere. These awards are voted for by the students, and handed out by the AGEPoly association. One of the students made a comment thanking Sofia, “without whom the materials course would have been dull, and the practicals would have seemed to (…)
Engineering a more sustainable skyscraper
Construction is underway on the 85-meter Tilia Tower near Lausanne: the first large-scale building in Switzerland to be built with a low-carbon cement developed in EPFL’s Lab of Construction Materials. Construction consortium Induni-Maulini broke ground on the Tilia Tower this spring, and the project is expected to finish in 2026. The building will span 27 (…)
Rolex will use LC3 in their new multi-building factory in Switzerland
According to the Swiss media outlet La Liberté, Rolex’s new factory in Bulle, Switzerland, which is slated for completion in 2029, will be constructed using LC3 cement. This multi-building complex (project currently under public consultation) will span 300 meters in length, and cover an area of 10,000 square meters. Remarkably, 98% of its heating will (…)
New documentary about green concrete
Prof. Karen Scrivener featured in a documentary by NZZ Format, broadcast by Swiss media outlet SRF1. The following documentary (30min) is in German, with subtitles that can be automatically translated (see below). Green concrete – will the climate killer become a climate saver? Concrete – a modern building material: houses, towers, bridges, tunnels, dams, nothing (…)
Karen Scrivener receives honorary doctorate from TU/e
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has announced that Karen Scrivener, head of the Laboratory of Construction Materials in the School of Engineering, will receive an honorary doctorate from the Dutch institution for her scientific contributions to the field of building materials. According to a TU/e press release, the institution honors one or more people from (…)
Karen Scrivener appointed to United Nations SDG group
Karen Scrivener has been selected by the United Nations Secretary-General for the Group of Ten High-level Representatives of Civil Society, Private Sector and Scientific Community to Promote Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (10-Member Group). The 10-Member Group forms part of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), which is designed to harness multi-stakeholder (…)
The future of construction with more sustainable cement
A new material developed at EPFL could change how we make cement forever — and cut 500 million tons of emissions by 2030. Under the stewardship of Karen Scrivener, head of EPFL’s Laboratory of Construction Materials at the School of Engineering, a team of researchers has been wrestling with the environmental implications of concrete, a (…)
Symposium – Does concrete have a future in a sustainable world?
Munich, Germany – 21st April 2023 At the Symposium on Sustainable Construction at BAU2023, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems, sustainable construction experts discussed the compatibility of concrete in a sustainable world. We can reach climate goals if we work together. Substantial reductions in CO2 emissions (up to 80%) is (…)
The confused world of low-carbon concrete
The ambition towards implementation of ‘low-carbon’ concrete in the industry is evident nowadays. Nevertheless, there is certain ambiguity observed in the approach of manufacturers, specifiers and wider industry regarding the adoption of sustainable concrete. Fragkoulis Kanavaris of Arup and Karen Scrivener of EPFL identify part of the ambiguity that can adversely impact the actual implementation (…)
Concrete – a game changer in climate technology
Tough stuff – that suits her. Karen Scrivener is a renowned expert on the world’s most widely used building materials: concrete and cement. But cement as a binding agent has fallen into disrepute as a “climate killer”. The professor disagrees. The head of the Laboratory for Building Materials at EPFL’s School of Engineering in Lausanne (…)