Semester reviews of the RELIEFS URBAINS design studio
Reliefs urbains © EPFL / LAST
This week took place the end-of-semester reviews at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. For Prof. Emmanuel Rey's studio, it was an opportunity to discuss the ongoing explorations of over thirty students who worked on designing a new neighborhood on the hillside of the city of St. Gallen. The guest experts on this occasion were Sara Formery, an architect from Lausanne, and Didier Collin, an architect from Geneva.
At a time of climate emergency and contraction of available resources, the architectural project has a central role in the search for alternatives to urban sprawl. It allows for the regeneration and densification of buildings near public transport and, more broadly, the inclusion of good construction practices within the transition dynamics toward a low-carbon society.
In the Swiss context, a large part of the urbanized areas is on slopes. This condition generates multiple challenges in terms of building and mobility. The implantation of buildings and the creation of public spaces are confronted with unavoidable questions regarding the relationship to the ground level and the minimization of soil excavation. In terms of mobility, it is a matter of rediscovering and revaluing electric transport techniques, specifically adapted to the slope, developed before the hegemony of the car.
Located in the eastern part of the city of St. Gallen, on Freudenberg hill, the site selected for the 2025–2026 studio is anchored by an intermediate station of the Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railroad. Currently, the site is occupied by a large water reservoir at the top and residential complexes below, which exhibit limited interaction with the surrounding public space. It is defined as much by its fragmented building morphology as by the quality of its visual openings—both of which invite architectural reflection on its potential future.
The RELIEFS URBAINS Studio explores — through the architectural project — the many challenges and opportunities such a site presents. Particular attention is given to intermediate housing, as well as to the landscaping and integration of public spaces in response to the site’s unique characteristics.