Bassenges farm courtyard - 2020 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0
The EPFL Management has chosen "Modi Operandi", by Eric Maria Architectes Associés SA in Cologny, to upgrade the buildings on the Bassenges site from 2026 onwards, and relocate the Bernoulli Center for Fundamental Sciences there. Details of the project will be announced mid-February.
EPFL has selected the laureate of the architectural competition launched last July to renovate the historic buildings on the Bassenges site. The winner is Éric Maria Architectes Associés SA, Cologny, whose "Modi Operandi" project won over the jury. The project pays particular attention to the agricultural buildings in need of renovation, which are considered part of the cantonal heritage.
A more detailed description of the project will be provided after the appeal period on the announcement - around mid-February.
In parallel, EPFL met with the Collectif Cambium, which currently exploits the land and uses the buildings on the Bassenges site to the west of the school's Lausanne campus. During the meeting that took place on January 16, the School confirmed that it would officially terminate the 6-year lease concluded in 2020, with effect from January 31, 2026. The termination letter was sent on January 20.
A tripartite program for agricultural land
The architectural competition concerns only the buildings and their direct surroundings. The land will remain entirely dedicated to agriculture and the protection of biodiversity. A new call for tenders will be launched to find the operator(s) best able to achieve the Management's objectives for these areas. The project is divided into three parts: market garden production, urban plant nursery and historical garden. Arable land will continue to be cultivated, as will the grazed orchards installed in recent years.
Towards a world-class center of excellence
All the steps taken at the beginning of this year are necessary for EPFL to offer the Bernoulli Center the space it needs to accomplish its missions. These include, in particular, providing excellent conditions for pupils attending the Euler and Turing courses, as well as organizing public events dedicated to theoretical fundamental sciences. Finally, under the guidance of EPFL professors of mathematics, physics and computer science, two of whom are Fields Medalists - the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics - , the Bernoulli Center will become a venue of choice for international meetings of the highest calibre, designed to strengthen theoretical basic sciences and help them evolve towards solutions useful to all.
