Ankita SinghviAnkita Singhvi studies circular economy for cities and is currently a PhD candidate at EPFL (Prof. C. R. Binder, HERUS).
Ankita received her BSc degree in Architecture from the Technical University Delft in 2017. She graduated with a design proposal for the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam that examined the ageing of materials in the built environment. Her interest in climate adaptation led her to pursue a MSc in Industrial Ecology from Leiden University and TU Delft. She graduated in 2020 with honours, with a thesis on resilience in grey and nature-based infrastructure for coastal protection.
During her studies, Ankita interned at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at Circle Economy. After graduation, she worked at LDE Centre for Sustainability, bridging science with practise. She coordinated the Circular Industries Hub, where she supported companies in their transition towards the principles of a circular economy. She collaborated on two research projects: “Securing Critical Materials for Critical Sectors: Policy options for the Netherlands and the European Union” (2021) and “Opportunities for resilient supply chains in a post-COVID-19 era: Lessons from the Dutch High Tech sector” (2021).
Ankita continues her work within the context of circular resource use at HERUS, EPFL. Her research focuses on the role of circular economy in urban and territorial transitions towards sustainability.
Franz GrafA graduate in architecture of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Franz Graf (°1958) has worked as a freelance architect in Geneva since 1989. A lecturer in architecture and construction at the University of Geneva (1989-2006), he became Full Professor of Technology at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in 2005 and Associate Professor of Architectural Theory and Design at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2007, as head of Laboratory of Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture.
His research focuses on knowledge of modern and contemporary systems of construction and techniques of preservation of 20th-century heritage. He has published in major reference works on Perret (2002), Prouvé (2005 and 2018), Mangiarotti (2010 and 2015), Addor (2015), Le Corbusier (2017), etc. In 2014, he publish the reference book on restoration of modern architecture, “Histoire matérielle du bâti et projet de sauvegarde”, PPUR, Lausanne.
Since 2010 he has been President of Docomomo Switzerland and a member of the International Specialist Committee on Technology, and since 2012 member or the “Comité des experts pour la restauration de l’oeuvre” of the Le Corbusier Fondation. From 2008 to 2014, he is co-director of the research project Critical Encyclopaedia for Reuse and Restoration of 20th-century Architecture.
Miguel Fernández RuizMiguel Fernández Ruiz was born in Spain in 1977. He obtained his diploma in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnical University of Madrid (Spain) in 2001 and was awarded that year as best student in Civil Engineering in Spain. He later performed his doctoral studies in the same University, and obtained his PhD (cum laude) in 2003. At the same time he performed his doctoral studies, he also developed a part-time (75%) career in the industry as consultant engineer specialized in composite structures.
In 2004 he joined the team of Prof. Aurelio Muttoni at EPFL as post-doctoral fellow, where he was later promoted as scientist and lecturer. In 2014 he is promoted as Senior Scientist at EPFL. Currently, he works part-time (70%) at EPFL, developing also a professional career as partner of a consulting firm specialized in structural design.
