EPFL Campus

Sion, Switzerland

A Line in the Landscape

Cultural - Public

2018

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Status

Competition

Client

EPFL

Address

Sion, Switzerland

Date

2018

Area

15 000 m²

Program (Details)

Student living spaces, 500-seat lecture halls, 5000m² library, classrooms, student services area, administration, coworking spaces, innovation incubator, rooftop gardens

Credits

Mikoü

Architect

Mikoü

Structure

Batiserf

Fluids

BET LOUIS CHOULET

HQE

Tribu

Economy

Bureau Michel Forgue

The project is situated within an exceptional natural landscape, characterized by rolling, verdant mountains that encircle the campus. This distinctive setting offers a highly captivating natural scenography. Our architectural approach seeks to highlight the site’s topography by emphasizing the contrast between the natural landscape and the built environment.

A Line in the Landscape
The adopted formal approach features a sleek, linear design, contrasting and complementing the iconic verticality of the neighboring Industrie 17 tower. The layout of the project emphasizes the site’s linearity by proposing a compact, fluid building that effectively addresses the elevation differences between the northern and southern parts of the site. A large, through forecourt, located between Rue de l’Industrie and Rue des Entrepôts, opens up toward Route des Portes Neuves. This design enhances the site’s permeability, facilitating pedestrian movement from the southern to the northern part of the campus. The site, proposed by the city of Sion for the new campus, acts as an urban interface: between the northern and southern parts of the city, between the old town and the newer developments, and between the railway lines and the river.

A habitable bridge spanning the city’s banks

The project takes the form of a habitable bridge, seamlessly linking the west to the east in continuity with the Industrie 17 building. Like a bridge, it connects the two “banks” formed by Rue de l’Industrie and Rue des Entrepôts, creating multiple connections across various levels. On the ground floor, a large 33-meter-long entrance porch facilitates public access across the campus. On the upper level, public stairways along the pilot halls provide direct access to the Exchange Platform, situated at the campus’s base.

Transparency and interior voids

The layout of the communal spaces has been designed to optimize their accessibility and foster interaction with the city: The Aula, positioned above the entrance forecourt, features full glazing on its sides, allowing the seating area to open up to the urban space. The media library, located above the cafeteria, is accessible both from the campus and via an independent staircase from the terrace.