The ‘smart living lab’, a research and development center for the built environment of the future, will launch an open call for tenders for a collaborative parallel studies mandate (MEP*) to produce a preliminary design for its new building. The experimental building is intended to showcase pioneering approaches to resource efficiency. Construction will take place on the blueFACTORY site in Fribourg. Multidisciplinary design offices will have until October 2018 to submit their prequalification bids. The final winner and the preliminary design of the building will be announced at the end of June 2019.
An evolving building, an experimental tool
Construction of this experimental building for the exclusive use of the smart living lab will begin in Fribourg in 2020. Housed in the blueFACTORY Blue Hall back in 2015, this research center combines the expertise of the EPFL, the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (HEIA-FR) and the University of Fribourg (UNIFR). With a gross floor area of approximately 5,000 m2, 130 workplaces and a budget of CHF 25 million, the future smart living lab building is intended as a sustainable construction that will evolve over time. The building should lend itself to multiple uses and serve as an experimental tool for work under real conditions. It should further the aims of research and improve its own performance over its entire life cycle. Breaking new ground in the management of user comfort and the efficient use of resources, the new building is expected to reach the Confederation's 2050 energy targets thirty years ahead of schedule.
Open call for tenders, guaranteeing quality and equal opportunities
A collaborative parallel studies mandate (MEP) should enable a preliminary design of the future building to be prepared between September 2018 and June 2019. Since funding will come from the Canton of Fribourg, project design and execution are subject to cantonal legislation on public procurement contracts. As project owner, Bluefactory Fribourg-Freiburg SA has delegated organization of the MEP to the smart living lab. A call for tenders open to all interested design offices, whether in Switzerland or abroad, will ensure equal opportunities and encourage high project quality. The smart living lab will prequalify bidders on the basis of its assessment of their expertise. After that, a mostly independent panel of experts will review and assess individual project bids. This process will include various intermediate discussions conducted in a spirit of openness. These discussions will take place in the presence of the panel of experts, representatives of all selected design offices as well as researchers and specialists from the smart living lab. By emphasizing a collaborative approach conducive to inter-institutional and transdisciplinary dialogue, the process is intended to reflect the essential nature of the future building itself: multidisciplinary and serving as a catalyst for progress.
*in French: mandat d’études parallèles (MEP)
Call for tenders (published as of 14th September 2018)
More information
Contact
Anne-Claude Cosandey, Operational Director, EPFL Fribourg Outpost and Coordinator, smart living lab, +41 21 693 51 82, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Philippe Jemmely, Director, Bluefactory Fribourg-Freiburg SA, +41 26 422 37 10, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.