lapa - Laboratoire de la production d'architecture

Lapa is a place where architecture is PRODUCED, a place devoted to the study and research of the process of developing architecture. Using the term 'production' underscores our view of architecture as an intellectual, crafted, machine-made, and artistic product. Lapa investigates and teaches design of the built environment across the entire range of scales, from planning to detail design. The fundamental goal of Lapa is to teach architects to become leaders in the creation of the built environment, and through Lapa research, we seek to find ideal production methodologies and environments that ensures highest architectural quality.

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NEWS

03.2010
"lapa OPEN HOUSE for the new lapa lab
lapa is pleased to announce the official opening of the newly expanded lapa lab.  The lab space has added another 4 machines, and taken over the adjoining production room to create a large format digital production laboratory.
The open house will take place on Thursday March 18th.
17:00 - Demonstrations and fabrications
18:00 - Official opening
18:30 - Apéro and open house
Everyone is welcome.

02.2010
"lapa collaborating with University of Bahrain Architectural Forum"
Each year the students at the University of Bahrain organize an "Architectural Forum" - a student run conference bringing together speakers, workshops, and discussions on the practice of architecture in the Gulf. This year the organizers have invited Russell Loveridge as one of the keynote speaker, and to assist with giving a workshop. Russell will speak about technology and design, and the issues of cultural appropriateness of "new" architectural forms.

12.2009
"lapa studio trip to Bahrain"
As part of the "Bahrain Cultural Masterplan" Studio, students and tutors will travel to Bahrain for the studio charette period in December.  This two week workshop will be a collaboration with the University of Bahrain, and will allow EPFL students to study cultural architecture in the island Kingdom.

11.2009
"New machines installed for lapa and ENAC"
Three new production machines have been installed in the lapa production laboratory as part of an ongoing effort to improve research capabilities. The machines are all large format production machines and include: A waterjet cutting machine, a vacuum forming machine, and a new model laser etching and cutting machine.  This equipment will first be used for research and the DD+P course, before being integrated into the normal ENAC equipment lists later next year.

lapa Studio

Bahrain : Cultural Master Plan

For the academic year 2009-10, the lapa design studio will examine the Gulf Island Nation of Bahrain. The autumn semester will focus on the regional scale to map out  different relationships between culture and economics, environmental issues, tourism, and urban social issues. The result of this work will be a "Cultural Master Plan" and Urban Constitution for Bahrain.

In the spring semester students work on architectural interventions. Students are required to develop a feasible and realistic "cultural" project as an architectural intervention. The different projects then "populate" the urban areas and test the architectural and cultural potential of the Cultural Master Plan.

This studio is a collaboration between the lapa and the University of Bahrain. The project has been instigated by the honourable Sheikha Mai and is sponsored with assistance from the Ministry of Culture and Information for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

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DD+P - Digital Design + Production

DD+P - Data : Design

Increasingly digital data is being used to represent much of the world that surrounds us. The DD+P course will investigate how this data can be accessed by designers, how it can assist in design, and how it can be used in to drive fabrication machines for architecture.
The goals for this UE course are for students to understand how to engage and criticise the changing digital technologies of the architecture profession, and to develop digital skills in CAD and CAM and to build mock-ups of designs that have been generated from data.

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