C茅lia K眉pfer
BSc (EPFL), MSc (EFPL), Doctor of Sciences (EPFL)
C茅lia K眉pfer is an Assistant Professor at the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture at 91丝瓜视频. She holds a Doctorate of Sciences in Architecture and Sciences of the City from EPFL (脡cole Polytechnique F茅d茅rale de Lausanne - Structural Xploration Lab, 2024) and a Master of Sciences in Architecture (EPFL, 2019). She was previously a visiting PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge.
Her work focuses on the reuse, repair, and adaptation of the existing built environment at the intersection of architectural design, construction engineering, and ecology. She has developed unique expertise in the deconstruction and reuse of structural building elements, particularly reused concrete. Drawing on lessons from often-forgotten historical precedents, her work advances knowledge on low-carbon design and new strategies for more resilient, resource-efficient management at both building and stock levels.
C茅lia K眉pfer works closely with industrial partners to develop scalable circular design methods and validate them through full-scale experimental constructions (e.g., the FLO:RE mock-up). Her research is published in leading scientific journals (Journal of Cleaner Production, Nature Communications, ...) and her work has received multiple awards (EPFL-Unil Durabilis Award, Fondation Orlando Lauti Award, Structure鈥檚 Best Research into Practice Paper award as co-author, ...).
C茅lia K眉pfer is an individual architect member of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA), a member of IASA (International Association of Structures and Architecture), and a fib (the International Federation for Structural Concrete) Young Engineer member. She contributes her expertise to international institutions, including the World Green Building Council and the European Commission.
- Bertola, N., K眉pfer, C. & Br眉hwiler, E. (2026). Environmental and economic benefits of UHPFRC intervention in bridge management for the Swiss Network (in press). Nature Communications.
- K眉pfer, C., Bastien-Masse, M., Bertola, N. & Fivet, C. (2025). Design, construction and assessment of FLO:RE 鈥� the prototype of a low-carbon building floor made of reused concrete elements and steel profiles. Architecture, Structures and Construction. 5, 25. DOI:
- K眉pfer, C. & Fivet, C. (2025). (Hors) traces. FACES journal d鈥檃rchitecture. 85, 37-43. Issue ISBN: 978-2-88968-199-0
- K眉pfer, C., Grangeot, M., Lambec, B. & Fivet, C. (2024). Reading the existing: What discarded materials bring to the project. in Architecture revalued. Baukultur and the culture of Transition, Bourdon, V., Friel, A. L., Vigan貌, P. (Eds), EPFL Press, 51鈥�68. Book e-DOI:
- K眉pfer, C., Bertola, N. & Fivet, C. (2024). Reuse of cut concrete slabs in new buildings for circular ultra-low-carbon floor designs. Journal of Cleaner Production. 448, 141566. DOI:
- K眉pfer, C. & Fivet, C. (2024). Structural component reuse of precast and cast-in-place reinforced concrete in architecture since the late 1960s in Europe. In Construction Matters, Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Construction History (8ICCH), 1077-1084. Proceedings ISBN: 978-3-7281-4166-8.
- K眉pfer, C., Bastien-Masse, M. & Fivet, C. (2023). Reuse of concrete components in new construction projects: Critical review of 77 circular precedents. Journal of Cleaner Production. 383, 135235. DOI: .
- K眉pfer, C. & Fivet, C. (2023). Panorama of approaches to reuse concrete pieces: identification and critical comparison. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 192006. DOI:
- Dev猫nes, J., Br眉tting, J., K眉pfer, C., Bastien-Masse, M. & Fivet, C. (2022). Re:Crete 鈥� Reuse of concrete blocks from cast-in-place building to arch footbridge. Structures. 43, 1854鈥�1867. DOI: .
- K眉pfer, C., Bertola, N. J., Br眉tting, J. & Fivet, C. (2021). Decision framework to balance environmental, technical, logistical and economic criteria when designing structures with reused components. Frontiers in Sustainability. 2, 689877. DOI: .
- Bertola, N., K眉pfer, C., K盲lin, E. & Br眉hwiler, E. (2021). Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Bridge Designs Involving UHPFRC. Sustainability. 13, 12399. DOI: .
- K眉pfer, C. & Fivet, C. (2021). D茅construction S茅lective - Construction R茅versible: recueil pour diminuer les d茅chets et favoriser le r茅emploi dans la construction. Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. DOI: