Closing event of NRP 70 "Buildings and settlements"
Student Housing, Aarhus DK © www.activeinterfaces.ch / Lars Kvist, Arkitema
For more than five years, the National Research Programmes NRP 70 and NRP 71 of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) helped identify the main components of the energy transition, in particular in the field of "Buildings and settlements". Organized on October 17th at the SwissTech Convention Center at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a closing event was held to present the main results of research carried out in this context, including the work of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) on the architectural integration of photovoltaic systems.
Issues related to the energy transition encourage the search for energy efficiency strategies and the integration of renewable energy devices, including building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installations. Functioning both as envelope material and electricity generator, BIPV systems can simultaneously reduce the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, while providing savings in materials and electricity costs.
As part of the NRP 70, the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) has been involved in two interdisciplinary research projects addressing these issues. Carried out in collaboration with multiple academic and private partners, the "Active Interfaces" research project focused on the integration of BIPV into the renovation processes of existing buildings, while the "Advanced Active Façade" research project allowed the development of a new construction system for the realization of low carbon active residential facades.
These studies highlight that, thanks to new technologies in building-integrated photovoltaics, the involved stakeholders now have a wide range of possibilities to combine architectural quality and a significant increase in the decentralized production of renewable energies.