SwissTech Convention Center

The SwissTech Convention Center is a conference centre on the campus of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

SwissTech Convention Center
Map
General information
AddressRoute Louis-Favre 2
Town or city1024 Ecublens
CountrySwitzerland
Coordinates46°31′24″N 6°33′50″E / 46.5234621°N 6.564013°E / 46.5234621; 6.564013
Elevation397 m
Inaugurated3 April 2014
Cost€110 million
Height
ArchitecturalModern
Top floorAuditorium A, B & C
Technical details
Floor count3
Floor area10'000 m2
Design and construction
Architecture firmRichter Dahl Rocha & Associés
Awards and prizes2016 Winner of the Best Swiss Convention Center - Swiss MICE
Other information
Seating capacityFrom 300 to 3,000
Number of rooms18
Website
Official website

Building edit

The building was designed by the architectural firm Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés of Lausanne. It was financed by two Credit Suisse real estate funds for 120 million Swiss francs.[1] The Credit Suisse owns the building, while the EPFL pays an annual rent of 6 million Swiss francs.[1] This public-private partnership was criticised by the Swiss Federal Audit Office as "the conditions are unfavourable to the EPFL and favourable to the investor".[2]

Financial support from the Swiss electricity supply company Romande énergie allowed the west facade of the building to be covered with panels made of organic dye-sensitized solar cell, also called "Grätzel cells" after Michael Grätzel, a physical chemistry professor at the EPFL and the inventor of this technology.[3]

Events edit

 
Space pioneers Buzz Aldrin and Alexei Leonov at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in 2015.

Regular edit

Other edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b (in French) "L’EPFL recadrée par le Contrôle fédéral des finances", Radio télévision suisse, 27–29 April 2015 (page visited on 11 July 2017).
  2. ^ (in French) Nicolas Dufour, "Le Contrôle fédéral des finances accable l’EPFL pour ses bâtiments spectaculaires", Le Temps, 30 August 2016 (page visited on 11 July 2017).
  3. ^ "The SwissTech Convention Center, a lab for conferences of the future", press release, 3 April 2014 (page visited on 3 October 2014).
  4. ^ "Olympics: IOC prepares to award next two Games to Paris and Los Angeles", The Guardian, 11 July 2017 (page visited on 11 July 2017).

External links edit