“My goal is to drive change in architectural practice”

For as long as he can remember, Emmanuel Rey has been fascinated by architectural spaces and how they can be transformed. His interest in the field dates back to his childhood, when his parents built their family home in Valais Canton. Alongside this budding vocation, Rey also became concerned about environmental and climate issues at a young age. That interest matured during his second year as an EPFL architecture student, when he closely followed events at the Rio Earth Summit. Since then, his career choices have all been oriented towards incorporating sustainability into architectural design.

After obtaining his master’s degree from EPFL, Rey began working professionally as an architect. He also completed a postgraduate program, from 1998 to 1999, in architecture and sustainable development. As part of this pioneering program (given jointly by several European universities, including EPFL), Rey visited the construction site for the Federal Statistical Office’s main building in Neuchâtel, designed by the architecture firm Bauart. The building provides a concrete example of how bioclimate principles can be applied in conjunction with renewable energy and ecological construction methods.

Bauart’s approach to architecture resonated with Rey, who joined the firm in 2000 and became a partner four years later. The company has offices in Bern, Neuchâtel and Zurich. Rey works out of Neuchâtel, where he helped to design and build the Ecoparc neighborhood at an abandoned site near the train station. “The idea was to renovate the site and its buildings by incorporating environmental considerations into all aspects of the new complex,” says Rey. “That was an unusual approach to take at the scale of an urban neighborhood at the time. We addressed issues such as density, mixed-use spaces, transportation, urban planning, energy and the environment. The project spanned 15 years and won several awards. It’s since become a reference in our field.” The Ecoparc project also formed the basis of Rey’s PhD thesis at UCLouvain in Belgium, which he carried out alongside his work on the project in order to investigate the redevelopment of urban wasteland as a sustainable alternative to urban sprawl. His thesis won the Gustave Magnel Prize in 2009.

Working with existing urban areas

Building bridges between research and industry has long been a cornerstone of Rey’s career. Since 2010, he has held the simultaneous roles of architect, EPFL professor and head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies(LAST), within EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. My underlying goal has always been to drive change in architectural practice,” he says. “And working out in the field gives me the experience to share my know-how more effectively.” LAST was the first EPFL research lab to place issues associated with the environmental transition and climate change on equal footing with architectural design. Its research focuses on how existing urban areas can be redeveloped in line with the principles of a low-carbon society, through an approach combining the transformation of existing structures with the construction of new ones. The lab also explores neighborhoods in transition, bioclimatic buildings and innovative building components.

At LAST, Rey uses a research-by-design method where the very process of developing new architectural designs is what generates knowledge. Here, one of his most recent projects was Rhodanie Urbaine, which looked at the future prospects for urban areas along the Rhône river. Students, architects and other experts pooled their know-how to develop and compare possible scenarios for building up four sites in Switzerland and France. The project also involved developing decision-making tools specific to this application.

Keep moving forward

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences has been impressed by LAST’s philosophy of working at the neighborhood level and transforming existing buildings. In 2015, the organization awarded its Transdisciplinary Research Award (the Swiss td-award) to LAST – the first time an architecture lab has won the award – for its Green Density project on neighborhoods in transition. Along with such achievements and the teaching he does in his workshop, Rey also finds it gratifying to supervise the research of his PhD students – there have been 12 so far. “There’s enormous satisfaction in being able to share your passion,” he says.

As the effects of global warming are causing many to fear a bleak future, Rey is continuing to move forward. “We shouldn’t let the way things currently stand prevent us from acting,” he says. “Taking concrete steps is a good way to move past the ideological posturing, avoidance strategies and resignation. Architecture – owing to its inventive spirit and transformational power – can be a particularly stimulating tool for handling the attendant complexity.”