ENAC news about research

Researchers discover novel deepwater renewal process in Lake Geneva

Published:15.07.24 — EPFL researchers discovered that deepwater renewal in Lake Geneva in wintertime is not only due to vertical mixing. Instead, strong currents coming from the lake’s Petit Lac basin and nearshore zones of the Grand Lac play a vital role.

Learning lessons from medium-sized Swiss cities

Published:03.07.24 — "La Suisse de A(rbon) à Z(oug): Portrait en 12 villes", a new book published by EPFL Press, eschews the traditional focus on major conurbations. Each chapter is penned by a researcher working in the humanities and social sciences, who provides insights into the city they know best through a dual lens: as both an expert and a resident.

"matières" magazine tackles the end of architecture

Published:28.06.24 — The new issue of "matières" brings together essays in which an 'end' to architecture – historical or current – is analysed and interpreted. A publication directed by Christophe Van Gerrewey, assistant tenure track professor.

Scientists reveal why some people with the flu may be more contagious

Published:26.06.24 — EPFL scientists have discovered that in indoor spaces, droplets containing the flu virus will remain infectious for longer when they also contain certain types of bacteria found in our respiratory tract. This finding provides important insight into how respiratory infections are transmitted and can enhance estimates of exposure risk.

A study of art and architecture revisits Swiss colonial history

Published:11.06.24 — In her PhD thesis, carried out jointly at EPFL's Arts of Science Laboratory and the HEAD-Genève school of art in Geneva, Denise Bertschi examines Switzerland’s role in establishing a slavery-based colony in Brazil. Bertschi, who is also an artist, will display her work at both the Swiss National Museum and the Neuchâtel Art Center in September.

Thale cress: The unassuming weed that's lighting up science

Published:05.06.24 — It’s a well-established fact that, in the plant world, competition for sunlight is intense. Smaller plants grow taller and spread their leaves to escape the shade cast by their loftier counterparts. But while we’ve long understood the mechanics of this adaptation process, little was known about how plants detect where sunlight is coming from. A team of scientists found the answer deep inside the cells of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Scientists map biodiversity changes in the world's forests

Published:31.05.24 — A group of EPFL and ETH Zurich scientists have mapped the biodiversity in forests worldwide. Their data, when combined with climate projections, reveal trends that could support ecosystem conservation and restoration efforts.

How rising treelines can affect Alpine lakes

Published:08.05.24 — An EPFL scientist along with colleagues from universities across Europe have completed the first-ever quantitative study of the changes that soil organic matter from forests can cause in high-altitude and high-latitude lakes once it’s dissolved in the water

On the trail of pollution in Lausanne

Published:24.04.24 — A team of researchers from EPFL, UNIL, and Unisanté have published a report that goes through the legacy of pollution from a trash incinerator that burned in the Lausanne Vallon neighborhood from 1958 to 2005. On March 27, they presented their research to the residents of the Vallon neighborhood.

New model better predicts our daily travel choices

Published:10.04.24 — An EPFL engineer has developed a forecasting model that factors in not just our commuting habits, but also our activities during the day. Her flexible approach incorporates the idea of trade-offs in order to deliver more realistic predictions.

Making construction sustainable by reusing materials

Published:21.03.24 — One way to lighten the construction industry’s heavy carbon footprint is to reuse existing materials – an approach being explored by numerous researchers. Here’s a look at some of their ideas, ahead of an upcoming speaker event at EPFL.

AI-powered system maps corals in 3D in record time

Published:19.03.24 — An artificial intelligence system developed at EPFL can produce 3D maps of coral reefs from camera footage in just a few minutes. It marks a major leap forward in deep-sea exploration and conservation capabilities for organizations like the Transnational Red Sea Center (TRSC).

Engineers facilitate the restoration of lake deltas

Published:06.03.24 — Engineers from EPFL and partner organizations have developed a method for classifying lacustrine deltas based on morphological parameters, in order to determine which of the deltas severely altered by human activity are best suited for restoration to their natural state.

Glacier shrinkage is causing a “green transition”

Published:01.03.24 — Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to EPFL scientists in a paper appearing in Nature Geoscience. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world’s major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project.

AI-driven method helps improve quality assurance for wind turbines

Published:22.02.24 — An international collaboration between EPFL and the University of Glasgow has led to an advanced machine-learning algorithm to effectively detect concealed manufacturing defects in wind turbine composite blades – before turbines are put into service.

Energy Strategy 2050: the potential of millions of Swiss rooftops

Published:20.02.24 — Five million rooftops in Switzerland – more than half of the nationwide total – are suitable for generating power. A review of two solar photovoltaic development strategies has shown that combining the two approaches could cause over two-thirds of Swiss towns and cities to become energy self-sufficient.

Mapping the blue ice in Antarctica from the sky

Published:07.02.24 — Antarctica’s blue ice is a gold mine of information for scientists. Yet it’s scattered across areas making up just 1% of the continent’s surface – so it’s not easy to find. But now, researchers have generated a map of blue ice areas by combining artificial intelligence with satellite data. [Article published in EPFL magazine Dimensions]

Urban heat islands have a health cost

Published:23.01.24 — A new study has produced the first cost estimate of the impact that urban heat islands have on human health. The study looked at 85 European cities over the course of three full years, meaning it also took into account the protection that heat islands offer in winter – an aspect that has been little studied until now.

Chameleon AI program classifies objects in satellite images faster

Published:16.01.24 — An AI program can train neural networks, using just a handful of images, to rapidly characterize in satellite and drone data new objects like ocean debris, deforestation zones, urban areas and more.

Three strategies to boost green electricity in Switzerland

Published:10.01.24 — Switzerland’s ambitious green electricity targets are realistic. A study by the SWEET EDGE consortium, bringing together scientists from EPFL-ENAC, ETH Zurich and the universities of Geneva and Bern, shows that three distinct strategies would make it possible to cover electricity needs and lead to the employment of several thousands of people in the sector of new renewable energy.

Making yesterday's commonplace today's innovation

Published:04.06.24 — How can we renormalize reuse? Barbara Lambec, an architect, heritage specialist, and researcher at EPFL’s Structural Xploration Lab (SXL), answers to this question in a column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Reimagining dwelling

Published:30.04.24 — It's possible to live in less conventional places, such as greenhouses, says Tiago P. Borges, architect and PhD student at EPFL’s Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types (EAST) in this column published in three local dailies.

“Modern” does not mean “monster”

Published:23.04.24 — Modern architectural buildings represent a rich repository of grey energy to be conserved, even if they are not always attractive, explains Giuseppe Galbiati, engineer-architect and former PhD student at EPFL’s Laboratory of Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture (TSAM), in this column.

What does the future hold for filling stations?

Published:18.03.24 — Filling stations will have to find a new purpose in a post-fossil-fuel world. That's what Anja Fröhlich, architect and associate professor, and Lara Monti, teaching assistant at EPFL's Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types, are talking about in this column.

Tapping into “urban intelligence”

Published:09.01.24 — In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Lucía Jalón Oyarzun, head of research at the Design Studio on the Conception of Space (ALICE) and Emmanuelle Agustoni, architect and scientist, explain how they built a picture of the living heritage of Vernier, a town on the western outskirts of Geneva

Energy is (not) sexy

Published:07.11.23 — In this article appearing in three local newspapers, Glòria Serra Coch, architect and PhD student at EPFL’s Human Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), wonders how to make the energy turn around more attractive.

How can we use steel efficiently for sustainable design?

Published:01.11.23 — In this column, published in three regional dailies, Dimitrios Lignos, who heads EPFL’s Resilient Steel Structures Laboratory (RESSLab), explains how his laboratory's research is contributing to a more thoughtful use of steel in construction.

Toward post-carbon neighborhoods?

Published:22.08.23 — In this column, published in three local dailies, Emmanuel Rey, Associate professor of Architecture and Sustainable Construction Technologies and head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), explains what lies behind the concept of "post-carbon neighborhoods".

Why flexible working has the power to change our cities

Published:06.06.23 — In this column, published in three local dailies, Andrew Sonta, engineer and Tenure track assistant professor at the Smart Living Lab explains how evolving patterns of behavior have called into question the value of the physical office space and add an additional layer of complexity to optimal building design and operation.

What can the Avanchet-Parc housing complex teach us today?

Published:09.05.23 — In this column, published in three regional dailies, researcher and architect Giulia Marino discusses how the Avanchet-Parc housing complex near Geneva can inspire future ecodistricts

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.

Will urban sprawl in Switzerland ever end?

Published:23.03.23 — Public policies aimed at curbing urban sprawl have limited effects, says Mathias Lerch in this column. The ENAC researcher cites a study conducted by his laboratory on peri-urbanization in Switzerland since the 1960s.

Industrial heritage: a driver of the socioecological transition

Published:27.12.22 — In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Anna Karla de Almeida Santos, a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Urbanism (Lab-U), explains that the transformation of sites with an industrial past represents an opportunity to test research avenues and materialize the socio-ecological transition.

Tapping into the energy stored beneath our cities

Published:22.11.22 — In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Margaux Peltier, the CEO of Enerdrape and a research assistant at EPFL’s Laboratory of Soil Mechanics, explains how recent technology developed at EPFL can help bring geothermal energy into existing buildings.

Made in the shade

Published:03.11.22 — In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Jérôme Chenal, the head of EPFL’s Urban and Regional Planning Community (CEAT), gives suggestions for how city planners can adapt their cities to make them more resilient to climate change.

Understanding our existing heritage

Published:25.10.22 — In this article appearing in a local newspapers, Paola Viganò, head of EPFL’s Habitat Research Center, and Valentin Bourdon, its coordinator, highlight why it’s so important to understand past architects’ intentions when adapting heritage buildings to modern contexts.

Local energy solutions help tackle global challenges

Published:21.09.22 — In this article originally appearing in French, Sergi Aguacil, an architect and head of the Building2050 Group at EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), discusses the research he’s doing at the Smart Living Lab in Fribourg to develop distributed power generation and seasonal storage systems for buildings.

ENAC Fribourg Grants: apply now!

Published:31.10.23 — We have the pleasure to launch an internal call: “ENAC Fribourg Grants”, offering a new opportunity to boost interdisciplinary research and innovative approaches for a sustainable development of the built environment. The call is open to all EPFL laboratories.

Forum des transitions urbaines 2023

Published:19.04.23 — Entitled "Towards Post-Carbon Neighborhoods", the Forum des transitions urbaines will be held on September 8, 2023 in the Auditorium of Microcity, a branch of the EPFL in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). Organized jointly by the Ecoparc Association and the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) of the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in partnership with the journal Tracés, the biennial event will approach this crucial theme for our built environment from different angles.

Three "ENAC Flagship projects" granted

Published:24.02.23 — We're happy to announce the 3 successful ENAC Flagship projects, involving 7 ENAC Professors coming from different research disciplines. The Flagships will receive between 400 and 500 kCHF each and will be running until spring 2026!

Five new ENAC Interdisciplinary Cluster Grant projects

Published:15.09.22 — ENAC's 3rd call for Interdisciplinary Cluster Grants resulted in 5 new projects, across ENAC's Institutes, addressing novel interdisciplinary research questions linked to climate change, digitalization and urbanzation.

ENAC Flagship projects: apply now!

Published:14.09.22 — We have the pleasure to open a new internal call: “ENAC Flagship projects”, which is a unique opportunity to boost interdisciplinary and ground-breaking research.