News Overview

Upcycling Workshop at Bluefactory Fribourg

30.5.22
Author: Switzerland Innovation Park West EPFL

During a constructive second-hand, upcycling workshop at BlueFactory Fribourg, site of Switzerland Innovation Park West EPFL, directed by the EPFL Structural Xploration Lab (SXL), Bachelor students at the EPFL School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) built five benches made of local industrial waste. Participants had to identify the embedded technology in recurrent waste and use design as an opportunity to reclaim that lost technology in the best way possible.

ENAC week workshops bring together bachelor students in architecture, civil engineering and environmental engineering. Constructive Second Hand considers circular economy as an opportunity to better design while reclaiming wasted elements. For a whole week, students are invited to the Smart Living Lab in Fribourg, CH. Each group has one goal: to build a piece of furniture while reusing discarded elements from local industries. The week gives full autonomy to the student groups and is comprises three steps: material collection, design & construction, and demonstration. A jury eventually discusses how embedded functional and technical qualities are reclaimed, as well as the potential for large-scale repeatability.