A little more than 30 years after its opening in 1991, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Innovation Park in Ecublens, Switzerland, has announced a major campus expansion effort to be spearheaded by 3XN and the local studio Itten+Brechbühl (IB). 

Their new masterplan, named Ecotype, includes 10 new mass timber structures and a smattering of biophilia-lined greenspaces that will gradually double the size of the entrepreneurial-oriented EPFL’s campus over the course of a ten-year timeframe. According to 3XN’s Jan Ammundsen, "Ecotope will be a campus that facilitates and generates disruptive innovative solutions by being the interface between EPFL and society at large."

The project is being undertaken in order to ensure that the 30 or so startups the Innovation Park produces annually will provide the physical spaces needed to thrive. The innovation park will be developed around six core "principles" of biophilia – "serendipity, modularity, sustainability, strong identity, and comfort," as outlined by the design team.

EPFL President Martin Vetterli explains, "Our School was a pioneer 30 years ago when we brought university researchers and businesses physically together in a single location and forged close ties with the Swiss economy and society. We began supporting startups very early on, and this has turned out to be a winning strategy. Personally, when I’m called on to advise young researchers, I encourage them to pursue careers in industry just as much as in academia. We can make a difference in both areas. Ecotope marks an essential step forward along this path, and will help ensure EPFL remains a key player in the local economy and an important driver of our dynamic region."

Phase one of construction will commence in 2023 and include what the 3XN and IB called a "green transportation system" that will link the new development to the main EPFL campus slightly over a kilometer (about half a mile) away.

The tandem will look to expand on their previous local collaborations for the mass timber Tour Tilia and the new IOC headquarters to deliver the innovation-minded project. In a press release, IB's Sabrina Bédu discussed workplace design post-Covid, adding that the overall concept "is about blurring thresholds between scales, spaces, and uses, and seeking transformative technical solutions to minimize the impact of the building itself."