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Civil Engineering - 15.06.2018 
Bringing the heat out of the city
Heat waves are increasing worldwide - and that includes Switzerland. Cities in particular suffer as a result: the temperature difference between city and countryside can amount to several degrees.
Civil Engineering - 26.03.2018 
Healing instead of cutting down
Trees can also get sick. In urban areas, this usually means that the infested tree has to be felled for safety reasons.
Civil Engineering - 12.02.2018 
Improving urban flood prediction
Heavy rainfall can cause flash floods in urban areas. While data from flood events is required to model such phenomena, water levels and discharges are not routinely measured above ground. Eawag now plans to make use of widely available images and videos to estimate these values. We are all familiar with the chaotic scenes caused by torrential rain in towns - roads turned into raging rivers and sewers overflowing, unable to cope with the volume of water running off streets, squares and rooftops.
Civil Engineering - Architecture - 12.10.2017 
Construction prototype for ultra-thin roof
Researchers from ETH Zurich have built a prototype of an ultra-thin, curved concrete roof using innovative digital design and fabrication methods.
Civil Engineering - Computer Science / Telecom - 11.10.2017 
Database clarifies bottom-up design of cement
An international team of researchers from EPFL, ETHZ and Rice University in Houston creates a database tool for the design of cement, a component of concrete, the most-used construction material in the world and a significant source of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Civil Engineering - Environment - 21.08.2017 
Urban butterflies under threat of extinction
According to an EPFL study, butterflies living in urban areas face the threat of consanguinity and potential extinction.
Civil Engineering - Environment - 03.08.2017 
When time ravages from within
Will the reinforced concrete bridge still be standing for years to come, or has corrosion already set in? ETH scientists have discovered that previous concrete samples were too small to allow a reliable statement on the condition of reinforced concrete. Taminabrücke opened in June this year following four years of construction.
Civil Engineering - Architecture - 05.07.2017 
Concrete from wood
Researchers from the National Research Programme "Resource Wood" have developed a type of concrete that largely consists of wood. The building material offers the construction industry new possibilities and is based in large part on renewable resources. Houses can be made of wood, as they were in the past - or of concrete, as they are today.
Civil Engineering - Architecture - 10.04.2017 
Modern construction using long-forgotten techniques
Researchers at ETH Zurich's Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) have developed a concrete floor system that does not require steel reinforcement and is 70 percent lighter than conventional concrete floors.
Civil Engineering - Environment - 13.02.2017 
Tapping into underground urban heat islands
Cities are heat islands - not only above ground but below ground too, and therein lies the enormous potential to better harness this energy through geothermal heat exchangers.
Civil Engineering - Business / Economics - 09.01.2017 
Mapping the urban underground
An EPFL researcher has taken a methodology designed to improve underground urban planning around the world one step further.
Civil Engineering - 23.11.2016 
Fast moving walkways could move 7,000 people per hour
EPFL researchers have been studying futuristic transport solutions for car-free urban centers. They have come up with an optimal design for a network of accelerating moving walkways. Could moving walkways help people get where they want to go in cities' This is not a new idea. The first moving walkways were seen in Chicago in 1893, and seven years later they were used at the world's fair in Paris.
Civil Engineering - Environment - 14.06.2016 
The causes of soil consumption
The soil is still under threat from urban sprawl. Small municipalities with little planning capacity and more easily accessible conurbations in particular are doing little to counter the issue. Researchers from the National Research Programme "Sustainable Use of Soil as a Resource" (NRP 68) have analysed the reasons for this by surveying Swiss municipalities.
Civil Engineering - Mathematics - 17.05.2016 
The shape of cities shapes the weather
17.05.16 - The features that make cities unique are important to understanding how cities affect weather and disperse air pollutants, researchers highlight in a new study. Compared to their surroundings, cities can be hot - hot enough to influence the weather. Industrial, domestic, and transportation-related activities constantly release heat, and after a warm day, concrete surfaces radiate stored heat long into the night.
Civil Engineering - Architecture - 01.04.2016 
A wooden roof without beams for the cantonal parliament in Lausanne
01.04.16 - All wood, no beams: the cantonal parliament in Lausanne, which is currently being rehabilitated, will be roofed using new wood construction technology researched and developed at EPFL.
Civil Engineering - Agronomy / Food Science - 05.01.2016 
Does urban living make us gain (or lose) weight?
The citizens of Lausanne may provide some insight into the causes of obesity. The extra weight carried by people living in the working-class neighborhoods of the western side of the city defies the usual explanations, and urbanism may have something to do with it. We are not all equal when it comes to obesity.
Civil Engineering - Social Sciences - 07.12.2015 
City dwellers travel more but pollute less
Statistics show that urbanites travel thousands of miles during their leisure time. Is it an urgent need for greenery?
Earth Sciences - Civil Engineering - 06.11.2015 
Thin walls with potentially fatal consequences
06.11.15 - Given the choice between safer and cheaper construction, many housing design companies in earthquake-prone developing countries see themselves forced to save on expensive construction materials and opt for the latter. EPFL structural engineers have gathered new data on how these structures respond to earthquakes, and in which circumstances they may fail.
Computer Science / Telecom - Civil Engineering - 25.02.2015 
Ramp metering and speed limits to prevent traffic jams
Researchers showed that by managing the access to freeway junctions and moderating the speed limit on the express lanes it is possible to reduce delays by over 12% across the highway system. In 30 years, traffic has more than tripled on most Swiss highways. On the A1, it even increased from 20'000 to nearly 90'000 vehicles per day, between Lausanne and Geneva.
Civil Engineering
Results 1 - 19 of 19.
Heat waves are increasing worldwide - and that includes Switzerland. Cities in particular suffer as a result: the temperature difference between city and countryside can amount to several degrees.
Trees can also get sick. In urban areas, this usually means that the infested tree has to be felled for safety reasons.
Heavy rainfall can cause flash floods in urban areas. While data from flood events is required to model such phenomena, water levels and discharges are not routinely measured above ground. Eawag now plans to make use of widely available images and videos to estimate these values. We are all familiar with the chaotic scenes caused by torrential rain in towns - roads turned into raging rivers and sewers overflowing, unable to cope with the volume of water running off streets, squares and rooftops.
Researchers from ETH Zurich have built a prototype of an ultra-thin, curved concrete roof using innovative digital design and fabrication methods.
An international team of researchers from EPFL, ETHZ and Rice University in Houston creates a database tool for the design of cement, a component of concrete, the most-used construction material in the world and a significant source of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
According to an EPFL study, butterflies living in urban areas face the threat of consanguinity and potential extinction.
Will the reinforced concrete bridge still be standing for years to come, or has corrosion already set in? ETH scientists have discovered that previous concrete samples were too small to allow a reliable statement on the condition of reinforced concrete. Taminabrücke opened in June this year following four years of construction.
Researchers from the National Research Programme "Resource Wood" have developed a type of concrete that largely consists of wood. The building material offers the construction industry new possibilities and is based in large part on renewable resources. Houses can be made of wood, as they were in the past - or of concrete, as they are today.
Researchers at ETH Zurich's Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) have developed a concrete floor system that does not require steel reinforcement and is 70 percent lighter than conventional concrete floors.
Cities are heat islands - not only above ground but below ground too, and therein lies the enormous potential to better harness this energy through geothermal heat exchangers.
An EPFL researcher has taken a methodology designed to improve underground urban planning around the world one step further.
EPFL researchers have been studying futuristic transport solutions for car-free urban centers. They have come up with an optimal design for a network of accelerating moving walkways. Could moving walkways help people get where they want to go in cities' This is not a new idea. The first moving walkways were seen in Chicago in 1893, and seven years later they were used at the world's fair in Paris.
The soil is still under threat from urban sprawl. Small municipalities with little planning capacity and more easily accessible conurbations in particular are doing little to counter the issue. Researchers from the National Research Programme "Sustainable Use of Soil as a Resource" (NRP 68) have analysed the reasons for this by surveying Swiss municipalities.
17.05.16 - The features that make cities unique are important to understanding how cities affect weather and disperse air pollutants, researchers highlight in a new study. Compared to their surroundings, cities can be hot - hot enough to influence the weather. Industrial, domestic, and transportation-related activities constantly release heat, and after a warm day, concrete surfaces radiate stored heat long into the night.
01.04.16 - All wood, no beams: the cantonal parliament in Lausanne, which is currently being rehabilitated, will be roofed using new wood construction technology researched and developed at EPFL.
The citizens of Lausanne may provide some insight into the causes of obesity. The extra weight carried by people living in the working-class neighborhoods of the western side of the city defies the usual explanations, and urbanism may have something to do with it. We are not all equal when it comes to obesity.
Statistics show that urbanites travel thousands of miles during their leisure time. Is it an urgent need for greenery?
06.11.15 - Given the choice between safer and cheaper construction, many housing design companies in earthquake-prone developing countries see themselves forced to save on expensive construction materials and opt for the latter. EPFL structural engineers have gathered new data on how these structures respond to earthquakes, and in which circumstances they may fail.
Researchers showed that by managing the access to freeway junctions and moderating the speed limit on the express lanes it is possible to reduce delays by over 12% across the highway system. In 30 years, traffic has more than tripled on most Swiss highways. On the A1, it even increased from 20'000 to nearly 90'000 vehicles per day, between Lausanne and Geneva.