Research - LABA - EPFL
Research - LABA - EPFL Research - LABA - EPFL
Position within the discipline laba team Prof. Harry Gugger Architect + Professeur ordinaire Tél. +41 61 225 10 20 harry.gugger@epfl.ch Goetz Menzel Head of Teaching Tél. +41 61 225 10 22 goetz.menzel@epfl.ch Aurelie Blanchard Teaching Assistant Tél. +41 61 225 10 26 aurelie.blanchard@epfl.ch Gwendolyn Kerschbaumer Head Research Tél. +41 61 225 10 24 gwendolyn.kerschbaumer@epfl.ch Nancy Couling Research Assistant / PhD Tél. +41 61 225 10 23 nancy.couling@epfl.ch Dr. Octavian Iercan Researcher Geoinformatics Tél. +41 61 225 10 24 octavian.iercan@epfl.ch Juliette Fong Head Administration Tél. +41 61 225 10 21 juliette.fong@epfl.ch http://laba.epfl.ch laba manifest - august 2012 The sphere of the architect is shrinking: today architecture finds itself in the paradoxical situation of being more popular than ever before and getting enormous media attention, while at the same time experiencing total decline. On the one hand architecture has become the media of many: developers, investors, corporations and institutions and on the other hand, most construction happens without architects. At the same time architectural design has become more complex requiring an ever-greater number of skills and competences taken over by a series of specialist consultants. As a result architects also become marginalized in the design process. To address this problem, laba has developed a design methodology ensuring that architects continue to play a central, coordinating and integrative role in the design process. laba’s approach to teaching is thus strongly influenced by the context of professional practice, meaning that students are exposed to key elements of the profession beyond pure design. At one end of the spectrum students are trained in territorial and urban design and are confronted with the development of a project. On the other end of the spectrum the processing of projects is structured according to building phases used by professional associations and the introduction to the building process is supported through a series of lectures on structure, façade, building service and fit out. The aim is to offer a well-rounded education, allowing architects to understand the design and building process in it’s entirety and to be pro-active participants in this process. Given the increasing global nature of the profession, laba also fosters an international environment by working with a local partner institution and conducting the studio in English. Finally, laba’s name reflects its didactic and scientific orientation: it is a laboratory, a place of applied research, dedicated to the analysis and development of design and building processes. 1
Theme Urban nature epfl campus - 2005/06 Havanna - 2006/07 London - 2007/08 Geneva - 2008/09 Bahrain - 2009/10 Athens - 2010/11 laba manifest - august 2012 laba’s focal theme is Urban Nature. The objective is to research the nature of the contemporary urban environment and to equip architects for the task of constructing sustainable solutions for these environments. What has been the case for the ‘developed’ world since the beginning of the 20th century is currently becoming a reality for the developing world - the majority of people will be living in an urban environment. In addition, as agglomerations expand, so do their supporting local and global territories. Urban agglomerations are thus leaving their mark on the majority of the earth’s surface. Due to the scale and character of this territorial expansion, the definition of the urban becomes more diffuse and complex. Urban systems are per se intricate, dynamic and determined by many diverse phenomena outside the architectural sphere. Architecture and urban design are hence inherently interdisciplinary, touching upon for example social, technical, aesthetic, cultural, economic, political, ecological and ethical issues. Our discipline cannot be understood in an isolated manner, but only within the wider context of these adjacent fields. Architects must therefore have a good understanding of the impact of these forces on the built environment in order to be able to respond adequately. This usually happens through collaboration with consultants in specialized areas. Architects are in this sense both assimilators and specialists; assimilating the knowledge embedded in parallel disciplines and specialists in the spatial articulation of this knowledge in architecture and urban design. Our studio and research aims at exploring the complex context of the architectural and urban design process through a number of national and international study objects and subsequently, at exploring appropriate physical expressions. Within the larger theme of Urban Nature, we are particularly interested in an urban morphology which makes cities more attractive and liveable. While over 50% of the population live in urban areas, these areas are further differentiated into specific and emerging typologies, some of which combine both characteristically ”rural” and “urban” components. laba investigates the contribution of urban design to understanding and improving these contexts. Through our teaching and research, we aim to position ourselves and participate in both the current academic and non-academic discourse on urban design and planning. Teaching and research on urban design is currently limited in the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering ENAC and laba sees it’s studio and research unit as a pivotal element in expanding the academic field of urban design within our school. The intention is to develop a larger network of urban design and planning studios, classes and research units both within the existing EPFL structure and in collaboration with other Universities specifically the ETHZ and it’s Contemporary City Institute Studio Basel. With Studio Basel laba, forms a platform to research today’s city called “Cerberus”. 2
- Page 1: laba manifest laba epfl - manifest
- Page 5 and 6: Methodology overview laba teaching
- Page 7 and 8: PAINTINGS by Pauline Seigneur PAINT
- Page 9 and 10: the different project phases Assign
- Page 11 and 12: Research laba manifest - august 201
- Page 13 and 14: Research LiDAR model population den
- Page 15: Composition et non-composition Coll
Position within the discipline<br />
laba team<br />
Prof. Harry Gugger<br />
Architect + Professeur ordinaire<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 20<br />
harry.gugger@epfl.ch<br />
Goetz Menzel<br />
Head of Teaching<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 22<br />
goetz.menzel@epfl.ch<br />
Aurelie Blanchard<br />
Teaching Assistant<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 26<br />
aurelie.blanchard@epfl.ch<br />
Gwendolyn Kerschbaumer<br />
Head <strong>Research</strong><br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 24<br />
gwendolyn.kerschbaumer@epfl.ch<br />
Nancy Couling<br />
<strong>Research</strong> Assistant / PhD<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 23<br />
nancy.couling@epfl.ch<br />
Dr. Octavian Iercan<br />
<strong>Research</strong>er Geoinformatics<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 24<br />
octavian.iercan@epfl.ch<br />
Juliette Fong<br />
Head Administration<br />
Tél. +41 61 225 10 21<br />
juliette.fong@epfl.ch<br />
http://laba.epfl.ch<br />
laba manifest - august 2012<br />
The sphere of the architect is shrinking: today architecture finds itself<br />
in the paradoxical situation of being more popular than ever before and<br />
getting enormous media attention, while at the same time experiencing<br />
total decline. On the one hand architecture has become the media of many:<br />
developers, investors, corporations and institutions and on the other hand,<br />
most construction happens without architects. At the same time architectural<br />
design has become more complex requiring an ever-greater number of skills<br />
and competences taken over by a series of specialist consultants. As a result<br />
architects also become marginalized in the design process.<br />
To address this problem, laba has developed a design methodology ensuring<br />
that architects continue to play a central, coordinating and integrative role in<br />
the design process.<br />
laba’s approach to teaching is thus strongly influenced by the context of<br />
professional practice, meaning that students are exposed to key elements<br />
of the profession beyond pure design. At one end of the spectrum students<br />
are trained in territorial and urban design and are confronted with the<br />
development of a project. On the other end of the spectrum the processing<br />
of projects is structured according to building phases used by professional<br />
associations and the introduction to the building process is supported through<br />
a series of lectures on structure, façade, building service and fit out.<br />
The aim is to offer a well-rounded education, allowing architects to understand<br />
the design and building process in it’s entirety and to be pro-active participants<br />
in this process.<br />
Given the increasing global nature of the profession, laba also fosters an<br />
international environment by working with a local partner institution and<br />
conducting the studio in English.<br />
Finally, laba’s name reflects its didactic and scientific orientation: it is<br />
a laboratory, a place of applied research, dedicated to the analysis and<br />
development of design and building processes.<br />
1
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