Experimental Solar Building Lausanne

Experimental Solar Building, Swiss Building, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Design Images

EPFL Development, Lausanne, Switzerland

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Project design by Dimitri Papadaniel – d. p. architectes

4 Jan 2010

Design: Dimitri Papadaniel – d. p. architectes

Experimental Solar Building - Lausanne

Experimental Solar Building in Lausanne

The experimental solar building LESO of the ” Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ” built in 1982 constitutes one of the main research tools of the Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory.

EPFL Development design:
LESO Laboratory LESO Laboratory LESO Laboratory

It has been designed with a facade composed of 9 interchangeable modules. The objective was to test the energy performance of different types of facade composition. The laboratory is fully instrumentalised and managed by many computer resources, ensuring a perfect modeling and development of systems analysis

The building has a very low specific energy consumption (energy performance indicator of 200 MJ/m2 year), achieved thanks to the efficient thermal insulation of the envelope (U = 0.4 W/m2 K), the building’s efficient passive solar energy use (main glazed surfaces south exposed) as well as its thermal inertia (inner walls made of concrete and cement blocks).

About twenty passive solar and hybrid systems have been tested on this buiding. The roof integration of a 3 kW-peak photovoltaic solar power system in 1990 has allowed to show the affinity between this decentralised kind of power generation and the building.

Traditional swiss building for reference
LESO Laboratory

The south facade, which was redesigned in 2001, with a reference to vernacular architecture of the Schwitz (CH) canton, shows an even better energy performance (integrated daylighting system) and its low environmental impact (90% local materials with a low grey energy content and greenhouse gas emission neutral).

LESO Laboratory – EPFL Development Lausanne – images / information from d. p. architectes

Dimitri Papadaniel – d. p. architectes studios based in Lausanne (Switzerland) and Athens (Greece)

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland, central Europe

Swiss Architectural Designs

Swiss Architecture Designs – architectural selection below:

Swiss Architecture Designs – chronological list

Zurich Architecture Walking Tours – bespoke city walks by e-architect guides

Swiss Architects

Chenot Palace Weggis Health Wellness Hotel, Weggis, Canton Lucerne
Design: Davide Macullo Architects
Chenot Palace Weggis Health Wellness Hotel Lucerne
photograph : Roberto Pellegrini
Chenot Palace Weggis Health Wellness Hotel

Rosengarten Student Residence, Bucheggstrasse, Zürich
Design: ETH Zurich
Rosengarten Student Residence Zurich Switzerland
images courtesy of architects studio
Rosengarten Student Residence in Zürich

Swiss Buildings

Other Buildings with interchangeable solar modules:

Kiefer Technic office, Bad Gleichenberg
Design: Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner
Bad Gleichenberg building

Biokatalyse, Graz University of Technology
Design: Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner
Technical University Graz

Swiss Architecture

Comments / photos for the Experimental Solar Building Swiss Architecture design by Dimitri Papadaniel – d. p. architectes page welcome