Prof. Dr. Dolaana Khovalyg - SK

What was the aim of your project?
30 Swiss and Korean students, from the fields of architecture, civil engineering, IT, management and environmental sciences, participated in the first edition of the ARC-HEST (Architecture for human environment with smart technologies) program. They analyzed indoor comfort during a Summer School held in Seoul in August 2019, and a Winter School held in Fribourg in February 2020.
Swiss architecture is highly regarded in South Korea. Combining architecture with technology for human wellbeing in the built environment, with a particular attention to quality of indoor environment, sparked a high level of interest.

How did you secure a research partner?
It was ambitious and rewarding to invite three top Korean universities to participate in the joint program. On the Swiss side, the Smart Living Lab was leading the initiative with the support of the Science and Technology Office Seoul. The Smart Living Lab is a common research centre of EPFL, the University of Fribourg and the Fribourg school of engineering and architecture HEIA-FR. Hence it appeared natural to involve also three universities on the Korean side: EWHA Womans University, Hanyang University and Sungkyunkwan University.

How would you describe your experience of the programme?
The overall focus of the program is the study of the synergy between architectural design, human factors, and technologies in office buildings. It also examines their combined effect on indoor environmental quality and human-building interaction in a local context – both cultural and architectural. The very first edition of the program focused on coworking spaces that are increasingly popular, especially among startups and freelancers.
The visibility of the project was reinforced by the public events held at the Swiss Embassy and through the connection to the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism. Having three top-level Korean universities involved was unique and made for a broad diffusion of the program. The strongly interdisciplinary approach of the program was identified as a differentiating feature.
The impact of the program was further strengthened by the second part, the winter school, which took place in February 2020 in Switzerland with the same participants.

What role did the Leading House Asia play in the programme?
The Leading House Asia supported the project through an Opportunity Grant.

What were the impacts you made through the project/partners/individual?
The form of the collaboration was pretty original, involving three Swiss and three Korean universities for the first time. It was a fruitful ombination of academic disciplines and scientific methodologies around a common field of study. Additionally, the close collaboration with foreign partners and case studies in South Korea has stimulated the reflection about the Swiss culture of work, architecture, construction and facility management.
The joint program in such an international context strengthens the links between the Swiss partners. Finally, it contributed to the production of knowledge about the global trend in development of coworking spaces, and their interplay with new ways of working, evolving lifestyles and rising awareness about indoor environmental quality.

Testimonial: what were your personal experiences/thoughts on the bilateral cooperation experience?
Without a doubt, the program has had a great impact on the students and professors involved. Students had a chance to travel, make new friends, work in a multicultural environment, learn how to perform actual measurements in buildings, and gain experience in working in teams. For some students, it was their very first opportunity to travel abroad. At the beginning, the program was challenging for the organizers and professors since we needed to work in a large, international and multidisciplinary team. Overall, the program has been a great success to-date and we have built strong links between six universities that can lead to future collaborations.