The Rolex Learning Centre, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 2010
Photograph of the Rolex Learning Centre auditorium (7)
Year: 2010
Client: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Architect: SANAA
Client: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Architect: SANAA
About SANAA
SAANA was founded in 1995 by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. The Japanese architectural duo is based in Tokyo. Their most well-known works include the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion (Toledo, Ohio), the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the Serpentine Pavilion in London, the Christian Dior building in Omotesandō (Tokyo), the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, the Louvre-Lens Museum in France, the Bocconi New Campus in Milan, and the Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne (1). They have taken part in several exhibitions around the world, and have been awarded a number of architectural prizes, such as the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2010. Sinuous curves, large windows, and the use of concrete are common features of their work.
In 2014, SAANA were awarded the Daylight Award for the Rolex Learning Centre. This award rewards and supports daylight research, and daylight in architecture for the benefit of human health, well-being and the environment. It is given every second year in two categories; Daylight Research and Daylight in Architecture, and consists of a sum of 100,000€. It is offered by VELUX FONDEN, VILLUM FONDEN and the VELUX STIFTUNG, three foundations established by Villum Kann Rasmussen, the founder of VELUX. (2)
Photographs of the Rolex Centre (11) (7) and of the architects (7)
Project LOCATION: Lausanne, Switzerland
Google maps map and satellite image
The PROJECT
The Rolex Learning Centre is the library and campus hub of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL). Located outside the city centre of Lausanne, it contains a large library, student work places, offices for researchers, a bookshop, cafés, a restaurant, a 600-seat auditorium and a bank. (3) Completed in 2010, the building was designed by the Japanese architectural duo SANAA. Open to both students and the public, the 20,200 m² Rolex Centre houses 500,000 volumes of scientific literature. The total occupant load is of 860 (4). Ryue Nishizawa described the project as such: ‘the concept of the building was to make one very big room, where people and programmes can meet together to have better communication’ ‘There are no walls to divide, so any programme can meet anywhere. It is more like a park.’ Patrick Aebischer, EPFL President, described the building as an exemplar of the university’s vision, ‘where traditional barriers between faculties are broken down, and where the public are inspired and made welcome’(3). The Rolex Learning Centre is located in the geographical centre of the university. There is no hierarchy between the four facades, the main entrance in the centre of the building.
The structure consists of a low-slung, billowing concrete shell, anchored to a single-storey basement by 70 pre-stressed cables, and poured as a single element.(5) The design of the single-story, floor-to-ceiling glazed volume provides a clear uninterrupted terrain. The curvature of the building significantly increased the cost of the project, therefore requiring sponsors to intervene. Contributions from Logitech, Bouygues Construction, Crédit Suisse, Nestlé, Novartis, SICPA and Rolex allowed the £65 million project to become a reality. The curvature of the building probably alludes to the mountainous nature of the surrounding landscape. It is also a way to separate areas which have different functions without using partitions. Those changes in height also acoustically separate different areas. In addition, planes of carpet and sound-absorbing plasterboards are used to ensure the Centre provides a quiet environment, prone to concentration (6).
Rolex Centre plan (5) and photograph (2)
DAYLIGHT and the Rolex Learning Centre
There are virtually no partitions inside the Rolex Centre, and glass runs all the way around the outside. (7) This creates different light effects, which can all be perceived simultaneously. Interestingly, as a result of the light reflected from beneath the smooth, concrete arches, the structure appears to be floating in mid-air. (1) The white-on-white interiors reflect light and provide a luminous environment. The open plan allows for maximum light penetration and views in the building, and provides an environment where contrasts in daylight levels are not too strong. Daylight modulates the structure; it enlivens it.
There are fourteen circularly formed patios of varying shape and diameter punctured into the floor plate, allowing for the flow of daylight into the core of the space: light is brought deep into the plan. (4) Inside the building, different light effects are created, of which the two extremes are warm, direct sunlight from the southern lakeside and cold, diffuse northern light from the campus side. (7) This largely contributes to the success of the project. Occupants have different preferences in terms of light levels. In the Rolex Centre, each person can find a spot which complies with what they consider to be adequate and comfortable in terms of light levels. Venetian blinds are also available to avoid thermal or visual discomfort.
Due to the near-total absence of partitions in the structure, a variety of views and perspectives are offered into, out and through the structure. The mountainous landscape and Lake Geneva in the background provide beautiful views, which are constantly shifting as the building rises up or moves down.
Google Earth image and photographs of the Rolex Centre (7)
The well-lit design gives an ‘impression of airiness’ to the Rolex Centre, and provides an innovative educational setting, which has been adopted by students, employees and teaching staff. According to Mathilde Morelli, Life Science Engineering student at EPFL, the Rolex Learning Centre provides a ‘unique learning environment’. She claims that it is a very welcoming environment, which ‘feels like home’, so much so that her course’s WhatsApp group is ironically named ‘the Rolex roommates’. She describes the studying areas as completely quiet albeit very open. What she finds particularly enjoyable about the Centre is that it does not feel as austere as most libraries do (8).
The architects’ aim was to bring light ‘homogeneously’, ‘from everywhere’, in order to ‘open up the architecture’ and allow for ‘free circulation’ within the space. They wanted to avoid the use of artificial lighting during daytime as much as possible. Reflection is used from the courtyard or the diffusely reflective ceiling to bring natural light deep into the plan.(9)
In 2011, the 4th VELUX Daylight Symposium, directed by Ole Stenum, took place at the Rolex Learning Centre. The theme of the Symposium was “Daylight in a Human Perspective”; it focused on the effects of daylight on its occupant. The conclusion drawn from the various presentations that took place is that daylight is vital for our health, well-being and long-term sustainability. (10)
It is not surprising that the Rolex Centre was picked as the venue for a VELUX Daylight Symposium. The building is a quintessential example of good daylight design.
Bibliography
1. SANAA - The Daylight Award [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 17]. Available from: http://thedaylightaward.com/sanaa/
2. The Daylight Award | THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 17]. Available from: https://veluxfoundations.dk/en/awards/daylight-award
3. Press release Dornbirn, EPFL Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne. 2011.
4. Lushington N, Rudorf W, Wong L. Libraries – A Design Manual. Libraries – A Design Manual. 2016.
5. Gregory R. Rolex learning centre. Architectural Review. 2010.
6. Gregory R. SANAA creates a blank canvas for Swiss university learning centre. Architectural Review. 2010.
7. DAYLIGHT-AWARD FOR THE ROLEX LEARNING CENTER IN LAUSANNE - The Daylight Site | Daylighting research, architecture, practice and education The Daylight Site [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 20]. Available from: http://thedaylightsite.com/daylight-award-for-the-rolex-learning-center-in-lausanne/
8. Gaudissart V. Zoom interview. (Translated from French by author) 2020.
9. SANAA win Daylight Award for Rolex Learning Center. Interview with Sejima + Nishizawa (SANAA) - YouTube [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 20]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDTRrMegKyQ
10. Theme - The Daylight Site | Daylighting research, architecture, practice and education The Daylight Site [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 20]. Available from: http://thedaylightsite.com/symposium/2011-2/theme/
11. (The Rolex Learning Center ‒ General Information ‐ EPFL, n.d.)
