Exploring: Research-driven Building Design

The product of an innovative research project realized in cooperation between three Swiss universities—École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s School of Architecture, the College of Architecture and Technology in Fribourg, and the University of Fribourg—the smart living lab is a research and development center for the built environment of the future. This high-tech structure also serves as an emblem of the cooperative’s aim to translate academic research into actual buildings. A new series of books entitled Towards 2050 will showcase the ambitious undertaking at various stages.

The follow-up to Thinking, Exploring presents the next phase of research at the smart living lab, which focuses on the various problems that must be solved to satisfy future buildings’ sustainability goals. Given that the building sector is one of the world’s biggest contributors to CO2 emissions and energy consumption, the researchers are seeking strategies to improve energy and carbon performance at the smart living lab, anticipating tight requirements thirty years from now.

Marilyne Andersen is professor of sustainable construction technologies and head of the Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design at the EPFL’s School of Architecture. Emmanuel Rey is professor of architecture and sustainable construction technologies and head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies at the EPFL’s School of Architecture and a partner with Swiss firm Bauart Architects and Planners.