RnSLL 2024-2025
Summary
Place-user Interactions
Financement public
Joëlle Goyette Pernot
Skills directory
January 2024 - December 2025
Establishing Radon Research Infrastructure under and inside the Smart Living Lab Building at the Bluefactory Site
A boost to urban radon research
In the context of the energy transition and the search for alternative sources of low-carbon energy, geothermal energy could become a valuable resource—provided its effects on gas dynamics in the soil–building interface are properly managed. Indeed, with the evolution of modern energy-efficient construction techniques, there is a growing trend toward risk factors that may lead to a deterioration in indoor air quality.
The behavior of radon beneath buildings—especially in the presence of geothermal probe fields—remains poorly understood. In collaboration with Augsburger, part of the Grisoni Group, the croqAIR team installed sensors in two 30-meter-deep wells beneath the Smart Living Lab building at Bluefactory in April 2025. The long-term collection of this data represents an invaluable resource for radon research, especially as these new technologies gain traction and become increasingly common beneath cities across the Swiss Plateau.
From research to professional training
Another key objective is to ensure optimal protection of buildings against infiltration risks using construction techniques recommended in Switzerland. The implementation of these methods, in collaboration with the JPF Group overseeing the construction work, aims to provide drilling companies, energy suppliers, and builders with essential insights for the future.
The goal: to develop best practices for an integrated and sustainable approach to geothermal energy use while systematically safeguarding the building stock—and thereby protecting the population.
Media reports (in French)
Interview à la RTS, 19.06.2025