Aurèle Parriaux | EPFL Graph Search

Aurèle Parriaux studied geology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He obtained his Ph.D. in hydrogeology and followed several postgraduate courses in hydrogeology, operational hydrology and geotechnics. He acquired a wide experience in engineering geology in the fields of motorway construction, geological hazards, underground water and geomaterials prospecting as well as the management of natural resources.

In 1991, he was appointed full Professor of Engineering Geology at EPFL and presently he is head of the Engineering and Environmental Geology Laboratory (GEOLEP) at the same institute. He leads a research team of about twenty people specializing in the fields of geological hazards and underground resources.

Professor Parriaux has significant teaching responsibilities. He teaches geology to students in 'Civil Engineering' and 'Environmental Sciences and Engineering'. Moreover, he teaches Engineering Geology at the Universitiy of Lausanne.

Parallel to his research and teaching, Aurèle Parriaux carries out expert appraisals in various fields of engineering and environmental geology. In particular, the recent appraisal of the compatibility between construction of tunnels and protection of groundwater resources.

Since the creation of the new School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, he participates in the teaching related to territory and landscape into which he brings the geological and geomorphologic component.

Aurèle Parriaux is active in several international organizations. He was chairman of the Swiss Hydrogeological Society for six years. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director of the Civil Engineering Section of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne.

In 2006, he published his book "Géologie: bases pour l'ingénieur". The second edition of this successful textbook has been published in 2009. In competition with 105 scientific books, Géologie : bases pour l'ingénieur received the Roberval Prize in 2007. The publisher CRC Press/Balkema, member of the Taylor & Francis Group, publishes an English translation of the book (Geology: basics for Engineers, 2009).

In December 2008, Prof. Parriaux was nominated Chevalier of the Order of Academic Palms by the Prime Minister of the Republic of France.

In September 2011, he left the EPFL to dedicate his time to being an independent expert. Prof. Parriaux is currently based at Chemin de Crêt de Plan 103 in La Conversion CH-1093 (www.parriauxgeo.ch). He is continuing his collaboration with EPFL, especially on the DEEP CITY Project and on landslide research.

Construire en sous-sol: un bilan économique

Michael Robert Doyle, Aurèle Parriaux, Philippe Thalmann

La construction souterraine n’est pas beaucoup plus coûteuse qu’en surface : telle est la thèse que soutiennent les auteurs de cette étude comparative de différents scénarios d’une construction fictive en surface ou souterraine. Elle devrait permettre de dissiper certaines idées erronées sur la construction en sous-sol, alors que cette stratégie, qui contribue à réduire l’étalement urbain, s’apprête à entrer dans les politiques urbaines.

2020

Embodied Energy and Lifecycle Costs: Questioning (Mis)conceptions about Underground Construction

Michael Robert Doyle, Aurèle Parriaux, Philippe Thalmann

In the construction community, underground construction is perceived as being significantly more costly and more energy-consuming than comparable surface construction. Although the literature is scarce, studies that have attempted to quantify this difference tend to compare built projects in very heterogeneous conditions. The objective of this article is to present the results of life cycle cost and energy consumption simulations conducted as part of a large research project at our home institution. This article begins by examining the preconceptions the construction industry seems to have about underground construction as reported in the press from 2007 to 2017. Then, we present the method and results of two unpublished studies on the differences in costs and energy consumption of a hypothetical commercial building project in two different geological contexts. We find that energy consumption is 15% higher but also 4% lower. We also find that underground construction in unconsolidated sediment ground is approximately 23% more expensive, while only 10% in bedrock, which is significantly lower than the 200% to 300% differentials reported in previous studies. We attribute this to the level of detail of our studies, the inclusion of ground conditions and conclude that our results help to dispel certain misconceptions about underground construction, which can contribute positively to urban sustainable development goals.

2019

Geology Basics for Engineers

Aurèle Parriaux

Geology – Basics for Engineers (second edition) presents the physical and chemical characteristics of the Earth, the nature and the properties of rocks and unconsolidated deposits/sediments, the action of water, how the Earth is transformed by various phenomena at different scales of time and space. The book shows the engineer how to take geological conditions into account in their projects, and how to exploit a wide range of natural resources in an intelligent way, reduce geological hazards, and manage subsurface pollution. This second edition has been fully revised and updated. Through a problem-based learning approach, this instructional text imparts knowledge and practical experience to engineering students (undergraduate and graduate level), as well as to experts in the fields of civil engineering, environmental engineering, earth sciences, architecture, land and urban planning. Free digital supplements to the book, found on the book page, contain solutions to the problems and animations that show additional facets of the living Earth. The original French edition of the book (2007) won the prestigious Roberval Prize, an international contest organized by the University of Technology of Compiegne in collaboration with the General Council of Oise, France. Geology, Basics for Engineers was selected out of a total of 110 candidates. The jury praised the book as a "very well conceived teaching textbook" and underscored its highly didactic nature, as well as the excellent quality of its illustrations.

CRC Press2018