Claudia R. Binder, a Swiss, Canadian and Colombian citizen, was born in Montreal and spent most of her childhood in Switzerland and Colombia. She studied at ETH Zurich from 1985 to 1996, earning a degree in biochemistry and then a PhD in environmental sciences. After conducting her post-doctoral research at the University of Maryland in the US from 1996 to 1998, she returned to Switzerland and took a position as a senior research scientist at ETH Zurich, studying the interaction between human and environmental systems at the Institute for Natural and Social Science Interface. In 2006, Binder joined the University of Zurich as an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, and in 2009 moved to the University of Graz in Austria where she served as a full professor of systems science. In 2011, she took a position at the University of Munich’s Department of Geography as a full professor of human-environment relations.
Binder joined EPFL in March 2016 and set up the Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS) at ENAC; she also holds the La Mobilière Chair on Urban Ecology and Sustainable Living.
Her research involves analyzing, modelling and assessing the transition of urban systems towards sustainability. She looks in particular at how we can better understand the dynamics of urban metabolism, what characterizes a sustainable city, and what drives and hinders transformation processes. She does so by combining knowledge from social, natural and data science. Her research focuses on food, energy, and sustainable living and transport in urban systems.
In Switzerland, Binder was appointed to the Research Council, Programs Division of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in 2016 and serves on the Steering Committee of the SNSF’s National Research Program 71, “Managing Energy Consumption” and the Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER). She is also a member of the Steering Board on Sustainability Research for the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, she was elected as a member of the University Council of the University of Munich (LMU).
At EPFL, Binder is the academic director of Design Together, a cross-disciplinary teaching initiative. She was appointed to the management team of the Energy Center in 2018 and as head of the working group on EPFL’s energy and sustainability strategy in 2019.
FORMATION
2010 - Thèse de doctorat au sein de l'EDAR (Ecole doctorale Architecture, Ville, Histoire) sur la densification des friches ferroviaires, co-dirigée par les Prof. Inès Lamunière et Vincent Kaufmann
2005 - "Master of Art" en architecture, sous la direction des Prof. Patrick BERGER et Inès LAMUNIERE
2003 - Année d'échange à l'ETHZ
1999 - Entrée à l'EPFL, section architecture
1998 - Maturité type B, Collège Claparède, Genève
EXPERIENCE PROFESSIONNELLE
2010 - Architecte, Cheffe de projet chez LAR - Fernando Romero, México
2006 - Assistante de recherche à lEPFL au Laboratoire darchitecture et mobilité urbaine (LAMU), projet de recherche PNR54 "Densification des friches ferroviaires"
2005 - Architecte chez Devanthéry & Lamunière, Genève
2004 - Stage darchitecture, Eric Maria, Genève
2003 - Stage darchitecture, Sumi & Burkhalter, Zurich
2001 - Stage darchitecture, Devanthéry & Lamunière, Genève
RECOMPENSES ET BOURSES
2001 - Prix SIA Vaudoise pour le projet "Fondation Ella Maillart à Chandolin"
2005 - Prix de l'Association des diplômes A3-EPFL
2008 - Bourse Erna Hamburger
LANGUES
Français (maternelle), allemand et anglais (courantes), portugais (notions)
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1983 Ing. Civil EPFL
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1991 Dr ès Sciences techniques, EPFL
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Directeur du Laboratoire de systèmes énergétiques (LASEN) de 2003 à 2008
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Dès 2008, Responsable du groupe de Recherche en Bioénergie et Planification énergétique
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Co-fondateur du bureau d'étude ENERS Energy Concept
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Président de la Fondation SUD (Solidarités Universitaires pour le Développement)
Je suis membre de différentes associations professionnelles parmi lesquelles figuent le Conseil Mondial de l'énergie (CME) et l'Association internationale pour l'économie de l'énergie (AIEE). Comme membre du groupe d'étude du CME sur les vulnérabilités, j'ai développé les métriques utilisées pour évaluer la vulnérabilité énergétique des pays industrialisés.
Depuis janvier 2008 : membre du Comité d'édition du journal international Bioresource Technology.
Depuis 2009: membre du Comité de la "European Biofuels Technology Platform"Loïc Fumeaux was born in 1978 in Geneva. After a scientific degree, he joined the EPFL . He graduated as an architect in 2007 under the direction of Professors Jean- Paul Jaccaud and Bruno Marchand. His master's thesis was about sustainability integration from urban scale to the architectural details. This masters project was awarded with the SIA Prize and the Construction and sustainable development Prize (BG Ingénieurs Conseils).
In addition to his studies, Loïc develops independant activities and collaborated with LVBK Rotterdam and Lacroix- Chessex Geneva. In 2009 , he founded xy-ar.ch with Amélie Poncety . The office participates in many competitions and won the competition for the redevelopment of the Place de la Planta in Sion , currently under development .
In 2010, he became studio assistant at the LAST (Laboratory of architecture and sustainable technologies) headed by Prof. Emmanuel Rey. After a period dedicated to teaching he starts a PhD focused on the integration of sustainability criteria into the design process of temporary event infrastructures .
He is a member of the group of architects at SIA section Vaud and Treasurer of InterAssAr.
Director of EPFL Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory (1994-present); Founder & Director of ENAC Institute of Infrastructures, Resources and Environment (2002-2009); Founder & Director of EPFL Doctoral Program in Environment (2002-2009); Co-Director of EPFL Institute of Building Technology (1994-1997); Associate Professor of Building Physics at EPFL (1994-1997); Associate Professor of Building Physics at University of Geneva (1990-1997); Group Leader & Research Fellow at the EPFL Solar Energy Research Group (1981-1989); Research Fellow at the Applied Geophysics Institute of University of Lausanne (1980-1981).
Anna Pagani is an Italian architect and PhD candidate (C. Binder, HERUS). In 2015 she graduates cum laude in Architecture and Building Engineering at both Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Milano in Italy. She obtains a Double-Master Degree for technology talents (ASP-Alta Scuola Politecnica) with a multidisciplinary thesis about the Turin Energy Centre.During her academic path she is the winner of multiple European Union scholarships, allowing her to study in Barcelona and Lausanne. Her Master Thesis entitled “Hutongs-Transformation: A Battle Between Memories” (2015) is awarded with honors by the Politecnico di Torino.Following the path of anthropology, architecture, and sustainability, Anna is the curator of the seminar “Chinese New TOwns: negotiating citizenship and physical form” at the Beijing Design Week 2016.In 2017 she moves to China and works as architect for DEDODESIGN, a sino-italian architectural and design firm based in Shanghai, which focuses on sustainable architecture projects. During her stay, she is the organizer of two international workshops around the topics of sustainability.Aside from university..Anna studies since the age of 4 in the Lycée Français Jean Giono in Torino, which allowed her to speak, today, 6 languages. With a strong passion for writing, she has published on the Italian Review Edizioni Zero, il Giornale dell’Architettura, as well as Babylon.When she's not in the office, Anna practices yoga every morning, dances contemporary dance, sings in a choir, studies German, and attempts to limit her environmental footprint...
