Laboratory of Flexible Structures

The Laboratory of Flexible Structures (FLEXLAB) at EPFL focuses on understanding and exploiting mechanical instabilities of slender structures to develop novel functional mechanisms across various length scales. Research areas include thin rods, shells, and plates, fluid-structure interactions, soft materials, fracture, and granular materials. By embracing mechanical instabilities as opportunities for scalable, reversible, and robust functional mechanisms, the lab aims to design new classes of flexible structures using predictive modeling frameworks. Through high-precision model experiments and digital fabrication techniques, they explore geometric nonlinearities and develop practical applications in areas such as stretchable electronics, micro-actuators, deployable structures, and more.