Microcity, an Innovative Building Integrating Sustainability Issues from Urban Design to Constructive Detail

The Microcity building, which houses the new branch of the EPFL in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), is the result of a synergy-generating strategy based on partnerships, experimentation with innovative processes and the continuous integration of sustainability-related challenges. Ranging from urban design to construction details, this approach has integrated diversified notions such as institutional synergy, technological innovation, urban densification and high environmental quality. Through urban densification in the vicinity of public transport stops, this realization has played an essential role in stimulating the revitalization of the entire neighborhood (new public spaces and soft mobility facilities). At the building level, the strategy is based on solutions that focus on rational resource use and minimize environmental impacts (compactness, thermal quality of the building shell, natural light enhancement, high-performance electrical devices, and materials with favorable LCA). A large part of the structure is based on a hybrid, prefabricated system (wood and concrete), which allows a reduction of embodied energy and provides a high level of flexibility for future adaptations. Microcity is also a driving force for integrating renewable energies going beyond its own limits (photovoltaic center on the roof and underground canal ring that uses water from the lake to reduce the impact of cooling).