EDAR doctoral thesis distinction 2023: Giuseppe Galbiati

For this edition 2023, the EDAR doctoral program, in Architecture and sciences of the city, granted an EPFL Distinction for the high quality thesis of Giuseppe Galbiati. His research on buildings between the years 1960-80, studies constructions with suspended structures and light facades, such as the Chauderon administrative complex in Lausanne, and suggests ways of renovating them to save energy.

The thesis was developed under a co-tutorship program between EPF Lausanne and UCLouvain with prof. Franz Graf, EPFL – TSAM and prof. Giulia Marino, UCLouvain – LAB – Superpositions.

Nowadays, the energy efficiency of the existing building stock is internationally accepted as an absolutely topical issue. Building retrofitting is strongly encouraged by European and Swiss polices, but how to cope with the energy improvement of the modern architectural heritage? The answer lies in rethinking common retrofitting practices, reconciling energy efficiency and architectural preservation, often perceived as two clashing issues. Starting from the pilot research for the Citè du Lignon restoration, Giuseppe Galbiati’s work is devoted to defining a cohesive step-by-step method for the thermal retrofitting of modern heritage. This multidisciplinary approach includes historical and architectural studies, technological analysis, thermal diagnosis, alternative scenarios’ proposal and multicriteria comparison. The proposed method has been tested on the challenging suspended building type, opening to encouraging results. Three selected case studies, including Chauderon administrative complex in Lausanne, demonstrated the concrete possibility to reduce by more than 60% the actual energy needs, while fully respecting the architectural qualities of the post-war construction. The final aim of the research is to enlarge the methodological applicability, covering by analogy a wider range of modern buildings, thus answering the complex needs of contemporary society.