The areas of focus of the JMA site in Fribourg, TRANSFORMATION and SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION, respond to current and future sustainability issues and reflect the reality of construction in Switzerland and Europe. Indeed, the proportion of interventions in existing buildings is constantly increasing, as is the integration of sustainability issues from both a technical and social point of view.
TRANFORMATION
TRANSFORMATION is a transversal theme that brings together several disciplines. It mobilises knowledge and an understanding of the past (history and theory) by connecting them with a vision of the future (project). This theme crosses and links scales from construction elements, interior spaces and buildings, to districts, cities and territories. At the Master’s level, TRANSFORMATION is explored in design studios, seminars and workshops, as a process of change, adaptation, optimisation, variation, evolution and transition.
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION addresses the issue of sustainability of building technologies. This second focus introduces the concepts of life cycle, energy efficiency, resource conservation, building adaptability and reuse of materials. At the Master’s level, SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION is based on an experimental pedagogical approach developed in design studios, seminars and workshops at the ATELIER PopUP, a construction and experimental space for teaching and research on a 1:1 scale.
These two themes are linked to the research institutes associated with the Fribourg University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HEIA-FR), in particular the TRANSFORM Research Institute and the SMART LIVING LAB, an interdiciplinary research and development centre dedicated to the habitat of the future. These interactions create an effective and coherent synergy between teaching and research at the JMA Fribourg.
