The LafargeHolcim Foundation is strengthening its network of collaboration on sustainable construction research. Members of the LafargeHolcim Research Center in Lyon (LCR) visited two new buildings for material and construction research in Switzerland to examine the latest in materials efficiency, computer aided design and computer aided fabrication. Attendees agreed there were many opportunities for collaboration on new formwork reinforcement systems, creating complex architectural forms, reducing materials use and waste, and advancing the rate of innovation.

The LafargeHolcim Foundation is strengthening its network of collaboration on sustainable construction research. Members of the LafargeHolcim Research Center in Lyon (LCR) visited two new buildings for material and construction research in Switzerland to examine the latest in materials efficiency, computer aided design and computer aided fabrication. Attendees agreed there were many opportunities for collaboration on new formwork reinforcement systems, creating complex architectural forms, reducing materials use and waste, and advancing the rate of innovation.

Carlos Espina, Senior Vice President of Research & Development, together with François de Larrard, Scientific Director, Research & Development, and Gérard Kuperfarb,Executive Committee member responsible for Growth & Innovation, LafargeHolcim, and Member of the Board of the LafargeHolcim Foundation, were joined by a leading group of academics and researchers from EMPA (Materials Science & Technology) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). The purpose of the visit was to share research in the field of sustainable construction and to establish a common platform for future collaboration.

The NEST (Next Evolution in Sustainable building Technologies) accelerates the process of innovation in the building sector. The new building of EMPA and EAWAG (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology) in Dübendorf near Zurich is a place where new solutions that have not yet proven their capability sufficiently in practice can be scrutinised. New technologies, materials and systems are tested, researched, honed and validated in realistic conditions. The close cooperation with partners from research, industry and the public sector helps launch innovative building and energy technologies on the market faster. Holcim Switzerland has been an industrial partner of NEST since its inception.

Arch_Tech_Lab is a new building for the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich’s Hönggerberg Campus. The new building will be characterised by digital fabrication, the implementation of building information modelling (BIM), and the zero-emissions concept and in the process forge new paths within digitalised and process-oriented construction systems in the building industry. The Arch_Tech_Lab allows the most recent findings from research to be tested and ultimately introduced as possible new building systems in the construction industry’s innovation process.

The LafargeHolcim Foundation and LCR connect with cutting-edge research and innovation that is leading the industry. Such initiatives are part of LafargeHolcim’s commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure, and to contribute to a higher quality of life.