ALICE collaboratively builds balloon-frame timber 'house' in lausanne

ALICE collaboratively builds balloon-frame timber ‘house’ in lausanne
(above) image © aloys mutzenberg / ALICE EPFL

an international group of young architects, researchers, scientists, and doctoral candidates from the ecole polytechnique fédérale de lausanne (EPFL) has erected an architectural installation based on an experimental format for collaborative design and construction. led by director dieter dietz, the ALICE laboratory engages in developing and building full-scale, installation-size artifacts, as well as inventing new types of ephemeral structures for social and cultural events.

image © dylan perrenoud / ALICE EPFL

on the EPFL campus, ALICE has realized ‘house 1’ — a 11m x 11m x 11m balloon-frame timber construction which bears a ‘genetic code’ for future developments. the project involved more than 200 students who worked in groups under the close guidance of 12 studio directors and wood engineer rémy meylan.

each team was asked to design and build either a room intended for habitation, or a transitional space of connectivity, such as a porch, stairs, or doorway. the set of projects are strongly influenced by the others as it enters a multilayered discourse with its surroundings. the spatial experience of ‘house 1’ forms an unfolding evolution of a space that invokes questions, contains possibilities, and remains open for interpretation, rather than a singular homogenous architecture.

image © dylan perrenoud / ALICE EPFL

image © alessandra ortelli / ALICE EPFL

image © dylan perrenoud / ALICE EPFL

image © ALICE EPFL

image © dylan perrenoud / ALICE EPFL

project info:

architect /designer /artist: école polytechnique fédérale de lausanne; alice studio (atelier de la conception de l’espace)
team: ALICE studio – 1st year students (2016), dieter dietz, daniel zamarbide, raffael baur, edouard cabay, laurent chassot, nicolas durr, margherita del grosso, alexa den hartog stéphane grandgirard, patricia guaita, agathe mignon, andrea pellacani, laura perez lupi, anne-chantal rufer, wynd van der woude with thibaud smith
lead engineer timber construction: rémy meylan, architect & wood engineer whood x mug
sponsors: marti construction SA; getaz miauton, debrunner acifer roth échafaudages; E.S. echafaudages services SA
materials: wood, metal, concrete
tools: screwdriver, japanese saw, drill, rope
dimensions: 11 x 11 x 11 meters
weight: 5 tons
planning: 3 months preparations, 1 month construction
15’000 linear meter of wood, 20’000 screws, 150 concrete tiles
project location /city /country: campus EPFL, lausanne, switzerland
year: 2016

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ALICE collaboratively builds balloon-frame timber 'house' in lausanne

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