The Rolex Learning Center in publications and movies

The launch of the book, published by EPFL Press, will take place on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, during "Dialogue 1: Higher Knowledge", as part of the Rolex Learning Center's 10th anniversary festivities. The speakers Christophe van Gerrewey and Brian Dillon will talk about the notion of the essay in architecture.

The bibliographic selection below is taken from the book, with the kind permission of the author: Van Gerrewey, Christophe. Higher Knowledge. SANAA’s Rolex Learning Center at EPFL Since 2010. Lausanne : EPFL Press, 2021, pp. 87-89. EPFL Press / swisscovery

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SELECTION

Three books have been devoted to the Rolex Learning Center and its history:

• Della Casa, Francesco et Eugène. Rolex learning center. Lausanne: Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes, 2010. Français : swisscovery / English :swisscovery
• Della Casa, Francesco et Jacques Perret. Rolex learning center, guide. Lausanne: Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes, 2012. Français : swisscovery / English :swisscovery
• Jodidio, Philip (ed.) Views Rolex Learning Center. Lausanne: EPFL Press, 2015. swisscovery

About the architectural competition for the Rolex Learning Center:

• Walker, Robert. « Futuristische Lernlandschaft: internationaler Wettbewerb für ein Learning Center an der EPFL ». Werk, Bauen + Wohnen 92, 3 (2005), pp. 56‑58. Available online : https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-68438. Printed version : swisscovery

Many reviews were published before or after completion:

• Devabhaktuni, Sony. « A Little Place Called Space ». AA Files 58, 2009, pp. 74–77. Available online: www.jstor.org/stable/29544719. Printed version : swisscovery
• Gregory, Rob. « SANAA Creates a Blank Canvas ». Architectural Review 1358 (1st April 2010), pp 22-23. Available online : www.architectural-review.com. Printed version : swisscovery
• Mayer, Hannes. « Die Welt ein Kreis, die Welt eine Linie ». Archithese 3 (2010), pp. 80‑85. swisscovery
• Albanese, Flavio. « A Solid Garden ». Domus 934 (2010), pp. 17‑26. swisscovery
• Vossnacke, Angélique. « Schwingender Saum ». Baumeister 107 (2010), 4, pp. 46‑53. swisscovery
• Buzzi, Francesco et Tibor Joanelly. « Weisse Leere ». Werk, Bauen + Wohnen 97 (2010), 5, pp. 10-19. Available online: https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-144753. Printed version: swisscovery
• Lucan, Jacques. « No-Stop Building ». Casabella 790 (2010), pp. 6‑10. swisscovery
• Rumpfhuber, Andreas. « The Legacy of Office Landscaping ». Idea Journal 11 (2011), 1, pp. 20-33. https://doi.org/10.37113/ideaj.v0i0.104

Construction and ventilation were the subject of:

• « Fin de chantier [dossier] ». Tracés 135 (2009), 12, pp. 5‑27. Available online :
• www.e-periodica.ch. Printed version : swisscovery.
• « Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne ». Detail, 5 (2010), pp. 470‑81. Available online (EPFL network only) in Detail Inspiration. Printed version : swisscovery
• Maillet, Christian. « Les coques du Rolex Learning Center ». In L’architrave, le plancher, la plate-forme. Nouvelle histoire de la construction, éd. Roberto Gargiani. Lausanne: Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 2012, pp. 882‑88. swisscovery

Interviews with Kazuyo Sejima et Ryue Nishizawa can be found in:

• El Croquis swisscovery :
  77 (I) (1996) : Kazuyo Sejima 1988-1996. swisscovery
  99 (2000) : Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa 1995-2000. swisscovery
  139 (2008) : SANAA : Kazuo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa, 2004-2008. swisscovery
  155 (2011) : SANAA - Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa 2008-2011. swisscovery
  179/180 (2015) : SANAA 2011-2015. swisscovery
  205(2020) : Sanaa: built work : Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa. swisscovery
• Idenburg, Florian (ed.) The Sanaa Studios 2006-2008. Learning form Japan : Single Story Urbanism. Baden : Lars Müller Publishers, 2010. swisscovery.
• Obrist, Hans Ulrich. SANAA. Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa. The Conversation Series 26. Köln: W. König, 2012. swisscovery

The Rolex Learning Center and the work of SANAA were the subject of the following book chapters:

• Allen, Matthew. « Control Yourself! Lifestyle Curation in the Work of Sejima and Nishizawa ». In Architecture at the Edge of Everything Else. Eds Marrikka Trotter and Esther Choi. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2010, pp. 22-33. swisscovery
• Colomina, Beatriz. « Soft Manifesto ». In Manifesto Architecture. Critical Spatial Practice 3. Berlin: Sternberg, 2014, pp. 29-38. swisscovery
• Frochaux, Marc. « The Environment of Knowledge ». In The Building. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2016, pp. 286-295. swisscovery
• McQuade, Marc. « Organize / Optimize / Simplify / Materialize. Fabian Scheurer Interviewed by Marc McQuade » et « Engineering the EPFL Rolex Learning Center. Bollinger + Grohmann ». In Landform Building. Eds Stan Allen and Marc McQuade. Baden: Lars Müller Publishers, 2011, pp. 408-454. swisscovery

The anecdote about Henri Lefebvre in Nanterre is recounted in:

• Stanek, Łukasz. Henri Lefebvre on Space : Architecture, Urban Research, and the Production of Theory. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2011, p. 186. swisscovery

The book by Roland Barthes on Japan was translated into English by Richard Howard:

• Barthes, Roland. Empire of Signs. New York : Hill and Wang, 1982. swisscovery

The photographs of SANAA’s buildings by Walter Niedermayr are the subject of:

• Küng, Moritz. Walter Niedermayr / Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA. Ostfildern: Cantz, 2007. swisscovery

Alexandre Kojève’s remark on the end of history in Japan can be found in:

• Kojève, Alexandre. Introduction to the Reading of Hegel. Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. swisscovery

The notion of « carbon form » was coined and defined by Eliza Iturbe in:

• Iturbe, Eliza (Ed.) « Overcoming Carbon Form ». Log 47 (2019). swisscovery

The Rolex Learning Center appears, as a subject or decor, in three movies:

• Wenders, Wim. If Buildings Could Talk. Neue Road Movies, 2010. Infos : roadmovies.com/film
• Maillard, Pierre. Le paysage intérieur. CAB Productions, 2011. swisscovery
• Larrieu, Arnaud et Jean-Marie. L’amour est un crime parfait. Gaumont, 2014. swisscovery

The interview with Wim Wenders by Anna Battista was published in:

• Battista, Anna. « Interview : Wim Wenders about his latest project ». Zoot Magazine, 21.10.2010. Available online : www.zootmagazine.com/2010/10/21/wim-wenders-and-sanna

The buildings for the Johnson Wax Headquarters are the subject of:

• Lipman, Jonathan. Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings. London: Architectural Press, 1986. swisscovery

The essay by Kurt W. Forster on SANAA’s New Museum was published in:

• Forster, Kurt W. « The New Museum in New York: A Whitewash? » Log 12 (2008), pp. 5‑12. swisscovery

The quote by Walter Benjamin can be found in:

• Benjamin, Walter. The origin of German Tragic Drama. London : Verso, 1998, p. 44. swisscovery

Fore more on the Facebook Headquarters, see:

• Eftaxiopoulos, Georgios. « The Largest Room in the World: MPK20 and hyper-flexibility ». AA Files 77 (2020), pp. 89‑112. swisscovery

The quote by Rem Koolhaas can be found in:

• OMA / Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau. S, M, L, XL : Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, 1995, p. 604. swisscovery