Commencement of works related to the new Bike Center
Point Vélo EPFL © LAST 2017
The works for the construction of the new Bike Center have started, on both the EPFL campus and the prefabrication of wooden elements. As a reminder, this construction is the result of the student competition entitled "Sustainable is beautiful", organized by the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) with the support of Real Estate and Infrastructures Department (DII), Sustainable Campus, EPFL Student Foundation (FEE) and the Vaud section of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA).
The new bike center program corresponds to a total area of 200 m2, mainly consisting of one office and spaces dedicated to reception, repairs and storage. As part of a willingness to promote soft mobility, the chosen site is located in the northern part of EPFL campus, along the Chemin des Arpenteurs, not far from M1 station.
Accompanied by several collaborators of the LAST and DII, the architectural approach is based on the project of the winners of the competition, Micael Lopes et Antoine Vauthey, who were integrated into the constructive development of the building. The construction relies in particular on a great simplicity of execution and on the use of local wood for the major part of the building. The competition offered thus the students the opportunity not only to imagine the architectural design on a conceptual angle, but also to experiment its achievement by actively contributing to the development of its constructive reality.