ENAC news about education

RebuiLT project shows it's possible to build differently

Published:13.12.24 — In a real-world example of how construction materials can be reused, a team of 230 EPFL students is building a community pavilion in Ecublens, near the Lausanne campus, through a low-tech, participative approach. This bold initiative entailed overcoming a number of logistical, technical and architectural challenges.

2024 Durabilis Award: focusing on solutions and risks

Published:11.12.24 — How can we ensure a low-carbon economy by 2050? What kind of sustainable housing can be imagined? The winners of the 2024 Durabilis prize awarded by EPFL and UNIL suggest ways forward, while raising awareness of potential risks.

“I've always been fascinated with how the body moves through space”

Published:18.11.24 — For her master’s project in architecture, Ada Massarente combined notions of dance, drawing and landscape, focusing on the intimate relationship between the body and the city. She proposed redeveloping the banks of the Veveyse – a river that empties into Lake Geneva at Vevey – to create new community spaces.

“Timber can be a good alternative if it's used wisely”

Published:05.11.24 — For his master’s degree in civil engineering, Matthieu Fehlmann worked on a project in Australia where he studied methods for laterally stabilizing an eight-story timber building without using concrete. This experience was both personally and academically enriching, and it gave him exposure to a whole different set of construction standards.

EPFL student applies engineering to public health

Published:10.07.24 — For his Master’s project, Noé Fellay mapped the presence of an autoantibody known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This cross-disciplinary study, carried out in the Lausanne area, was an opportunity for Fellay to broaden his skillset.

A new Master's degree to meet the challenges of urban transition

Published:21.06.24 — From the start of the 2025 academic year, a Master's degree in Urban Systems will enable ENAC students to become specialists in adapting cities and surrounding areas to climate change.

“The variety of backgrounds in my classroom is to everyone's benefit”

Published:18.06.24 — Julia Schmale is just as comfortable in an EPFL lecture hall as on an icebreaker in the Arctic. This adventurous spirit – along with the specific know-how of her students – enhances her cutting-edge research.

“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.