Feature story on the research project Working Space
Working Space © EPFL / LAST / Olivier Wavre
The modulart.ch platform, an online magazine dedicated to the design of modular buildings, made a report on the research project entitled Working Space. It focuses on the development of a new modular wooden system for the vertical extension of existing administrative buildings. Thanks to a partnership between the Canton of Vaud and the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), a first realization is nearing completion on a building located in the center of Lausanne.
In a perspective of urban densification, the Working Space project allows to create new and comfortable spaces, enhancing existing urban resources and generating minimum environmental impacts.
The structure consists of large-scale elements, composed of a frame of interconnected posts and beams. This primary load-bearing system allows to rely on a limited number of points and to easily transmit the loads on the bearing parts of existing buildings. All elements are composed and prefabricated in strict consistency with this basic structural grid.
Working Space's design also aims at minimizing the consumption of non-renewable resources, both for construction and for operation. In order to reduce energy needs, it is based on a bioclimatic approach. The project also favors renewable energies, in particular by integrating an important surface of photovoltaic panels on the roof.
Thanks to its flexibility and the speed of its implementation, this new modular system meets various needs when transforming existing roofs and provides the capability to work on buildings already in operation.