New exhibition showcases reuse principles in the built environment

For the roof of the Servion zoo pavilion, EAST's students recovered and installed old slate tiles. S. Jenckelman© 2020 S. Jenckelman - In order to shrink the construction industry's vast carbon footprint, architects will need to build recycling and reuse principles into their design process. EPFL's Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types (EAST) is leading the charge on this front. The lab's work will go on show at the Swiss Biennale of Territory, which opens in Lugano on 1 October. The energy-intensive construction industry is among the biggest culprits when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and rising global temperatures. But with storms, floods, heat waves and other natural disasters set to grow in frequency in the coming decades, the built environment is also one of the victims of climate change. The urgency of the situation calls for a rethink - one that starts with architects.