SwissTech Convention Center
Lausanne - Ecublens
Bold and innovative from
financing to technology
The SwissTech Convention Center (STCC) is a conference and meeting centre for congresses, banquets, events, commercial use, services and gastronomy. But above all, it is a figurehead for technology, architectural audacity and innovative financing. It was opened in 2014 as one of the most contemporary and well-equipped congress centres in the world. A special feature is its high degree of modularity. The large auditorium can be transformed, as desired, from a 3000-seat plenary hall into a flat exhibition hall or a banquet hall thanks to its retractable seats.
Public-private financing partnership
The fact that the construction could be carried out at all was only thanks to an innovative financing model that took into account the costs for the entire life cycle of the construction project. Within the framework of a pubic-private partnership, the federal government, HRS Real Estate and two real estate funds of Credit Suisse AG assumed the entire contractor agreement of CHF 225 million. This amount included the construction of the entire Quartier Nord, a district of its own on the EPFL campus, featuring, in addition to the STCC, a building complex with tertiary businesses, student accommodation and a hotel.
World premier Grätzel façade
From a technological point of view, the STCC, which was designed by the architects Richter Dahl Roccha & Associés SA from Lausanne, is a pioneer project. It rests on pillars, some of which function as geothermal probes and are equipped with sensors that allow further developing this technology with huge energy-saving potential. Particulary noteworthy is the west façade equipped with special dye solar cells, which were developed by Prof Grätzel at the EPFL and have been integrated into a building of this size for the first time. Regardless of the angle of light penetration, they reproduce plant photosynthesis and generate "green" electricity. Simultaneously, they protect the building from direct sunlight and reduce energy consumption from air conditioning.
Information
Client
MEG Ecublens CCR, consisting of: Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Hospitality /Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund LivingPlus (two Credit Suisse AG real estate funds), represented by: Credit Suisse AG Real Estate Asset Management, Zurich
Services rendered by HRS
PPP Project development HRS - EPFL, overall contractor with full cost, quality and deadline guarantee
Architect
Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes SA, Lausanne
Floor area
14,164 sqm
Overall cost
CHF 120 million
Duration of construction
January 2011 - February 2014