Creating a “sponge city” zone

Amplifying the existing environment: Wooded strips and wetland habitats

The initial landscape design of the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL) campus was centered around wooded strips and wetland habitats, all seamlessly integrated throughout the school’s modular architecture. Our project revitalizes and amplifies that initial vision.

A wide range of trenches, ditches, ponds, and backswamps designed for rainwater infiltration and storage are recreated. This new “sponge city” zone aims to prevent rainwater runoff from discharging into the surrounding water system. Interlinking these new wetland habitats creates aquatic continuity with the Sorge river. Surfaces become permeable.

Wooded strips are planted throughout all in-ground spaces. The Place Cosandey plaza provides a central, cohesive space, in a thoughtful return to its initial design. Lakeside, an orchard and a large lawn unfurl before the promenade, opening onto the surrounding landscape of Lake Geneva and the Alps.

The many on-structure spaces are also lushly planted. The Passage Nord path, punctuated with “planted islands,” becomes a linear garden that extends to the La Diagonale path. In the Place Ada Lovelace plaza, two circular raised mounds add significant soil volume. Benches are arranged around both planted mounds, perfect for relaxing in the shade. Small trees line the Place de l’Esplanade promenade, while the middle is intentionally left open. A hanging garden blooms on the Bâtiment Esplanade building rooftop, looking out onto the mountains and lake.