For her EPFL master’s project in architecture, Léa Guillotin outlined a plan for restoring an industrial district in Lausanne while promoting the reuse of construction materials.
Léa Guillotin, who grew up in a village in Normandy, developed a taste for architecture early on. She got her first experience with it as a teenager, when she helped her parents renovate their family home. Then an optional architecture class she took during a high-school exchange year in the US convinced her of her calling. After graduating, she applied to EPFL so that she could study not just the theory and history of architecture, but also the engineering behind the structures and the physics of the buildings themselves. Her master’s project examined a brownfield site in Lausanne’s Sévelin district – and received one of the highest grades in her class. The 2025 edition of the Master Architecture Award from the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA) included this work among the eight best master's theses in the country, out of 31 nominees.
Guillotin laid the foundation for her project brick by brick. She started in the first year of her master’s degree, when she took Prof. Pier Vittorio Aureli’s class and became interested in the history of industrial architecture. She completed her “theoretical statement” on that topic, earning one of the top five grades in her class. This background research gave her an understanding of the historical context that intrigued her. “Most industrial buildings seem to have been designed solely to meet various practical and financial considerations,” she says. “But amid all the banality, there are a handful of exceptions. For instance, some factories are built in structures with quality architecture that projects an identity but without being ostentatious. For the Sévelin district, I wanted to design a building that serves its function while staying true to the district’s industrial past.”
In the midst of a transformation
Today, the Sévelin district is undergoing a transformation. It’s an extension of the Flon area, which was Lausanne’s first industrial zone before it was converted into a commercial district. Sévelin was likewise a manufacturing hub made up of warehouses, garages and workshops – activities that have since been relegated to Lausanne’s suburbs.
On the western side of the Sévelin district are three abandoned industrial buildings constructed in the 1930s. They were used by a waste collection and treatment company called Goutte until 2016. In 2022, the company issued a call for proposals for renovating the site; the selected bid would tear down the buildings and construct a complex of residential and office buildings with shops on the ground floor. This decision was also based on the fact that two new tram stops will be located near the site starting in 2026. However, Guillotin challenged these plans in her master’s project, instead calling for an entirely different approach to how the 3,000 m² space could be used.
Transforming the Sévelin buildings in this way would give a real boost to reuse practices in Lausanne
Reuse center
Her idea is to turn the three buildings into a reuse center for construction materials. This would reflect the site’s original industrial, social and cultural vocation. At the center, different types of building materials would be collected, sorted, repaired and stored. It would include a showroom and spaces for holding events and training courses to build awareness among the general public. Architects and engineers would frequent the center, along with craftsmen and residents of the Lausanne area.
“Transforming the Sévelin buildings in this way would give a real boost to reuse practices in Lausanne,” says Guillotin. “It would also bring together a variety of activities, enable shorter supply chains and encourage local production. For instance, builders could source their materials or even buy chairs at the center instead of going somewhere else.” Guillotin adds that her idea is perfectly feasible. “Several cities are working to preserve their industrial heritage in order to avoid being inundated by residential property. Zurich has passed a law that sets land prices at a level small businesses can afford, protecting them from skyrocketing market prices. The goal is to ensure that a certain percentage of the city remains allocated to industrial use. Geneva is exploring an initiative with similar aims.”
Modular shelves
Guillotin’s center would promote the reuse of construction materials from buildings in Lausanne that are slated to be demolished. To assess the potential scope of the center, she did some leg work and found that around 40 buildings are planned to be demolished in the next few years. Some of them have a number of items that could be recovered: concrete slabs, woodwork, timber frames, earthenware and more. A few of these items could even be used to build the center itself.
Guillotin’s architectural design takes the shape of a large metal structure patterned after a modular shelving unit. It evokes the site’s industrial past and aims to incorporate as many items of the existing buildings as possible, such as concrete slabs, medium-sized load-bearing beams and wire mesh. The goal is to preserve the key components of the old industrial facilities. Other sections would be taken down and repurposed in the new structure.
What’s more, the components wouldn’t be damaged as they’re taken apart and reassembled. For instance, bolts could be used to join beams without impacting their quality. All parts of the new structure would be interchangeable so as to extend its lifespan and enable it to be adapted over time – and, eventually, to be dismantled if needed.
Guillotin was recently hired by Kunik de Morsier, an architecture firm in Lausanne, and began working there this fall, transferring her skills to her professional career. In her new job, she’ll be able to work on projects related to industrial architecture.
Building on the site’s history and heritage
Before fleshing out her idea, Guillotin met with the urban-planning officials in charge of the Sévelin district, as well as representatives of both Continuum – the non-profit organization that’s currently using the site – and Losinger Marazzi, the general contractor commissioned for the renovation work.
In speaking with these people, Guillotin discovered that Continuum currently runs a variety of social and cultural activities at the site, including a bar, flea market, second-hand clothing shop, pétanque court and exhibition area. She also gleaned another important piece of information: the renovation work, still in the design phase, is on hold as the builders wait for a building permit, since city officials are reviewing the district’s zoning plan. Her master’s project therefore came in at just the right time.
Model of Guillotin’s reusage center for the Sévelin district in Lausanne. © EPFL/Léa Guillotin
Aesthetic and elegant
Guillotin avoided using perpendicular lines in her design because they’re already prevalent in the Sévelin district. Two sections of the center’s roof would be covered with solar panels, giving it an added dimension and echoing the building just to the north. “I wanted the building to be elegant – to make people want to visit – and to prove that industrial structures can also be beautiful,” she says. She also drew from concepts learned in a master’s level class she took on integrating solar panels “in an aesthetic and coherent way.”
The material storage area in Guillotin’s center wouldn’t need any heating or even a facade. That cuts costs considerably, especially for a structure over 100 meters long. Omitting the facade would also reduce the center’s environmental impact and make it more visually appealing by opening up the space. Finally, Guillotin addressed logistical concerns in her design by modifying vehicle access to the site. She added installations for accommodating trucks, cars, cargo bikes and all the other logistics needed for the center to operate.
Date : 2025-11-12
News source : EPFL.CH
Auteur : Sandrine Perroud
Léa Guillotin, “Re-fabriquer Sévelin: L’image de l’industrie en centre-ville,” master’s thesis supervised by Jo Taillieu, EPFL, 2025.