Altitude: architecture et environnement de haute montagne

At the centre of the research is the preservation of the countryside which is highlighted and studied through an architectural approach which focuses on cabins in the high mountains. The projects must reflect upon territorial, global and sustainable aspects in order to counteract anthropic pressure occurring in the Alps due to the âdemocratisationâ of alpinism and touristic exploitation, which give rise to inadequate human behaviour in their surroundings. Restoring part of the alpine heritage is underway. It requires complex reflection on the development of building in high mountain areas (size, shape, level of comfortâŠ) and, more generally, on the relationship between mountaineers and the mountains. This investigation, concentrating on cabins in high mountain areas in Switzerland, has as its objective to demonstrate the potential of architecture to provide answers to the paradoxical search for balance between development and the protection of the mountain territory. Three hypotheses of research are put forward. The first is that the ubiquitous landscape must play a constitutive role in the mountain refuge project. The second is that a territorial reflection on the area must restore the feeling of ascent in the design of the cabins, especially through risk assessment. Finally, the contextualising of the constructions must go back to the basic use of a cabin (shelter, rest and protection) while favouring a level of comfort that is adapted to the surroundings, which is currently a sign of displaced city life. This study is focused on two scales of analysis, which represent the structure of this work: landscape and construction. They provide the opportunity to develop graphic representations, which are specific to the architect, that are adapted to the defined needs of this research. The graphic production of the territorial study provides the opportunity to abstract the altimetry of the Swiss territory and to give a differentiated reading of alpine geography and the impact of construction on the mountain tops. It is also a means by which to demonstrate that walking is a tool for understanding the surroundings and these findings must be included in architectural projects so that they fit in with the landscape. Contextualisation is compounded by the introduction of architectural choices in the intrinsic character of âhigh risk environmentsâ in the mountains. The constraint of risks becomes a design tool for a better assessment of the area by avoiding any strengthening of the idea of human supremacy in alpinists. Architectural study, historic and morphological evolution, shows the existence of a certain type whose marginalisation cannot negate its constructive interest, theoretical and analytically generalisable to the architecture of plains. The simplicity of the solutions hides a spatial and structural experimental rationalisation, which responds to the constraints of the area. The tendency towards uniformity in indoor spaces is questioned so as to find a phenomenological design that offers comfort that is adapted to the place, with the aim of making its users conscious of their surroundings. This contextualisation, which is territorial, architectural and spatial, helps in defining the type of cabin for the high mountains and gives rise to a study of a particular territory in order to influence human behaviour. This research asserts that architecture contributes to the development and protection of the high mountains in a way that is both global and reasonable.

Architectural contribution given the risks due to the popularity of the Mont-Blanc

Estelle Lépine

The objective of this contribution is to demonstrate the capacity of architecture to be a major factor of development on the specific site of the Aiguille du Goûter refuge, against the risks, both, environmental and human, caused by the severe overcrowding of the main route leading to the Mont-Blanc summit. The popularity of the Mont-Blanc has significant consequences on the environment and on human health. The poster will focus on the possibilities, offered by architecture, to answer the specific issues raised by empirical observations in situ and the confrontation between architectural and environmental considerations. The design, reinforced by a theoretical research, includes the definitions of walking and landscape as an integral part of the project. A reflexion on territorial scale contributes to the choice of the site, the shape and the integration. Typological and morphological choices aim to integrate the extreme environment in order to bring forward the proximity of deadly risks to which alpinists expose themselves, usually unconscientiously. To reinforce the presence of the mountain within the building, the context and the presence of natural elements as snow, rocks or slope of the famous Goûter’s corridor have been considered sources of the designing process. Finally to conceive the most appropriate spaces and refuge of high altitude, a particular attention has been given to the right level of comfort, suitable materials and atmosphere. The results of the research for this specific site will be presented through drawings, texts and images. The originality and interest of this contribution is to use architecture (implementation, typology and material) to address issues and to examine site-specific solutions in order to protect the Mont-Blanc summit and achieve a sustainable development of alpinism.

2014

On STAGE Research Project. Integration of sustainability issues into the design process of a temporary event infrastructure

Loïc Vivien Fumeaux

Subsequently to the verification of certain limits in the general practice of temporary structures for events, the research project "On STAGE" (sustainable temporary arenas for gigs and events) entails developing an integrated alternative regarding improved characteristics of sustainability. The project aims particularly at obtaining the following matters: architectural expression, flexibility of use, response to acoustic requirements, optimization of the thermal comfort by bioclimatic principles, ideal utilization of renewable resources and efficient utilization of the infrastructure. One of the originalities of the project is to deal with the challenges of permanent architecture in the area of a temporary and transportable construction. From that results a confrontation between the objectives of sustainability and a short time of amortization leading to experimentation with constructive innovative solutions, potentially applicable to permanent constructions.

2013

Intégration des critères de durabilité dans le processus de conception des constructions temporaires à vocation événementielle

Loïc Vivien Fumeaux

Sustainability is a constant search for balance between the needs and the means implemented, which implies meeting the needs present without compromising those of generations to come. Later generations will indeed imperative to consider. So that their scope for action not be mortgaged by human activities of previous generations, it is necessary to provide some leeway, especially from the perspective of the built environment transmitted by inheritance. Alongside these general theoretical considerations, it is now observed a glaring mismatch between the rapidly changing socio-cultural practices and the very slow renewal of the built environment . Whether in the way to live or work , or occupy constructed in the need for research space flexibility , the frame is characterized by the notion of "impermanence" increasingly important, in contrast with the perennial character commonly accepted and implemented in current practices . Most buildings are built to last, but are part of a society where everything is changing rapidly and so are facing frequent shifting situations between form and function of spaces. In this context, the temporary architecture can therefore be a good potential to seek to meet the challenges of multiple time frames and offer a potential mutation. This architectural approach is thus fully in sustainability concerns mentioned above, since it aims to offer a potential for adaptation rather than fixed solutions. Aware of the extent of the issue and complexity of reflections on the question of the impermanence of the frame, especially in view of the nature of architectural practices, this work focuses specifically on a little explored area that day at the research for which the notion of temporality is short intrinsic data: the field of temporary constructions events vocation. Through an exploratory approach, research methodology convene an archetype of the temporary architectural design to examine it as an object of study that can ideally translate the challenges of a design associated with an approach based on time restricted use. The research first observed in detail these practices sometimes considered at the margin of the architectural discipline. The structured analysis of four representative case helps highlight their limitations in terms of sustainability. part of the research, evaluative approach includes the development of an assessment methodology, specifically adapted to this type of construction. The approach then proposes the development of an alternative solution, which optimizes its multiple performances in a perspective of sustainability and overall quality. Through an approach of "research by the project" an integrated design process (IDP), both interdisciplinary and participatory, is experienced first sketches to detailed development of a prototype. Finally, from the product of this reflection, research in general rises and explores many possibilities of using this new system. This approach allows to demonstrate the potential contribution of multiple functional areas, illustrating what could be the conceptual foundations of an "architecture of the event." The result is a research methodology both "multi-scale" and "multidisciplinary", which demonstrates the great potential for optimizing this type of construction and the need to achieve to grasp the design simultaneously at multiple scales and integrating all stakeholders.

EPFL2016

Intégration des critères de durabilité dans le processus de conception des constructions temporaires à vocation événementielle

Loïc Vivien Fumeaux

EPFL2016