The Laboratory of Multiscale Studies in Building Physics is part of Empa’s Department of Engineering Sciences and focuses on developing technologies to support energy transition and a sustainable society by improving the performance of building materials, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, and ameliorating the quality of the built environment (indoor and outdoor).

The laboratory has excellent experimental infrastructures (including large-scale experimental fluid measurements facilities, environmental chambers, and various equipment to investigate processes in porous materials) and extensive experience in investigating coupled multiphysics phenomena and complex multiscale processes, as well as in developing and using cutting-edge scientific computing techniques (including HPC, machine learning, multiscale algorithms).

The laboratory is currently undergoing restructuring and reorganization of its research activity focusing on three principal areas:

• physics of building materials and energy systems

• data-driven modeling, machine learning, and smart monitoring

• transport of contaminants and pathogens in the built environment.