EPFL's very first buildings and their surrounding areas were just classified as historical monuments - 2026 EPFL / Jamani Caillet - CC-BY-SA 4.0
EPFL's very first buildings and their surrounding areas were just classified as historical monuments. In connection with this, the School has entered into an agreement with Vaud Canton and the ETH Board to preserve its emblematic 20th-century architecture while enabling the Lausanne campus to keep changing with the times.
It is the start of a new chapter for EPFL's Lausanne campus. Today, EPFL and Vaud Canton announced that the campus's original buildings, constructed between 1969 and 1984, and their surrounding areas have been classified as historical monuments. This recognition of the School's architectural heritage has also led to an agreement among EPFL, Vaud Canton and the ETH Board, which owns the buildings.
The original complex was designed by the Zweifel + Strickler + Associés architecture firm and includes 158,800 m² of floor space. It stands out for its modular structure and easy adaptability - two features that have enabled the campus to evolve over time in step with EPFL's teaching and research activities.
Preserving EPFL's heritage while supporting its growth
The new agreement aims to maintain the balance between preserving the past and adapting for the future. It will protect the architectural and historical characteristics of the buildings in question - which currently house offices and research labs - while giving EPFL the scope to renovate, transform and adjust the facilities to meet its needs going forward.
"The past does have a future," said Isabelle Moret, Vaud State Councilor and head of the Vaud Department of the Economy, Innovation, Employment and Heritage (DEIEP), during a site visit accompanied by the press. "Protecting this heritage doesn't mean setting it in stone. Rather, it means keeping the buildings alive. The agreement we've entered into today shows that with trust and dialogue, preserving the past and growing towards the future can indeed go hand in hand."
Architecture that adapts to campus needs
For EPFL, the classification of its historical buildings is also a way to showcase architecture that forms part of the School's identity. "Our Lausanne campus is a piece of living heritage, and we need to preserve it while continuously adapting to developments in teaching, research and innovation," says EPFL President Anna Fontcuberta i Morral. "I'm pleased we were able to set up an agile process with Vaud Canton - one that keeps our Lausanne campus dynamic and lets our School maintain its leadership position."
With the new agreement, the three partners have committed to the goal of preserving EPFL's exceptional architectural heritage while enabling it to stay at the cutting edge of teaching, research and innovation, now and for decades to come.
The agreement establishes a mechanism for ongoing collaboration between EPFL and Vaud Canton, ensuring that upgrades to the Lausanne campus are made in an agile, pragmatic way and respect its past heritage and future development plans.
A project committee will meet at least once every two months to regularly monitor construction and renovation work on the campus. Once a given kind of project has been approved, the associated work can be carried out with no need for additional formalities. Approved plans can also be used as a reference for other, similar work.
A steering committee will oversee large-scale renovation projects, such as those involving entire buildings or groups of buildings. This committee will also approve the creation of "reference areas" intended to preserve and showcase items representative of a building's original architecture.
This arrangement gives EPFL considerable leeway in adapting its Lausanne campus to its teaching and research needs while consistently highlighting the unique architectural heritage that sets the campus apart.
