Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) the world’s leading hospitality management school, has received the formal approval from local authorities to start the construction work for its future campus which will mix ecology, technology, and pedagogy. The many additions to the existing infrastructures include sports facilities, a new restaurant with a capacity for 450 people and twice as many dorm rooms.
After about a year of collaboration with local authorities, the plans have been approved and construction will officially kick off in the spring of 2017.
A campus for students, by students
The new campus, which is set for completion in 2021, is the result of an unprecedented international collaboration. In line with EHL’s forward-looking spirit, a central idea was to include the younger generation in a long-term reflection by calling for proposals from architectural schools through a vast worldwide competition. Today, the winning students Sofia Passos dos Santos from the University of Porto, Portugal and Jon Irigoyen from the University of Navarra, Spain are employed by EHL and have become important contributors to the project, which is estimated at over CHF 200 million. The remainder of the team comprises architects, engineers and sociologists. They are working hard every day to find solutions which cater to the inclusive ambitions of the project, in harmony with the surrounding nature and offering an optimal learning experience to future students.
A certified eco-friendly campus
EHL’s future campus, which will be able to host some 3,000 students by the end of the construction period, has been designed in conformity with Minergie-P© standards, a highly demanding Swiss ecological label. While extending the ground surface of the campus by 34,500 square meters, the school is planning to equip itself with geothermal probes that will harvest the heat from a depth of 800m. There will also be a novel wastewater heat recovery system. Together, both installations will cover 90% of the school’s heating needs. The new campus will also be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels covering a surface equivalent to three Olympic swimming pools.
An academic destination and an architectural feat
“As it has been the case for over a century for EHL, we strive to always look to the future and prepare for it today. To mirror the growing hospitality industry, our institution must adapt and grow its capacity to produce future hospitality leaders. This is why we have also recently extended and modernized our academic offer over the course of this last year”, explained Michel Rochat, CEO of EHL Group.
Maxime Medina, Chief Asset Management Officer of EHL Group added that “we are proud to apply, through this project, what we endeavor to teach our students. We are also very happy to multiply the extracurricular activities offered to students, after the initial phase which saw the academic quarters extended. This new campus will embody an inspiring work-life balance to our students and will, without a doubt, become an example for other institutions”.