Evan Luddens, visiting researcher at InnoRenew CoE; Main area(s) of research/activities: development of new software tools for identification of the expected service life duration of timber structures.

• Where were you living in childhood and where do you live now?

I come from Dole in Jura (France) and I have lived in Lyon (France). Now, I am studying in Nantes (France) and for my internship I live in Koper (Slovenia).

• What have you studied and what were the motives for your decision?

In hight school, I learned about the technologic innovation and eco-conception.

In my technician degree I learned  about civil engineering and sustainable construction. Now I’m studying the Wood Construction and low consumption building. I’ve always loved construction and I’d like to create the building of the future. Buildings are a major source of pollution and I want to reduce the CO2 emission during construction. My aim is to study the design of buildings to optimize their structures.

• How would you describe your work to someone outside your field?

I’m looking for a solution to analyse the life cycle cost of a building. The aim is to prevent the cost that a structure may cost you over a specific lifetime.

• What does your typical working day look like?

I’m making weather simulation on a wood building to understand the influence that the weather may have on the lifetime.

So the keyword is: modulization, simulation, analyse and optimisation

• What makes you excited about your work?

I like to understand the physics. I’m really excited about understanding how each thing can influence another.

• And what is the biggest challenge at your work?

Now, there are two big challenge for me. The first one, is English. The second one, is that it is my first time in the domain of the research and development, so it’s difficult to work with another approach that I usually use.

• Which scientist or scientific achievement are you fascinated by and why?

I’ve an example for this. My professor in my technician school is a teacher/researcher, and he has developed a new type of slab. It’s an hybrid-slab (concrete and wood). I like this scientific achievement because my teacher was able to use the advantages of each material to create a new construction system.

• Tell us about the work of art (books, music, movies, theatre, dance, visual arts) that has a special place in your life.

For me, art is anything that can create an emotion, so I live with 4 types of art that I use every day. Music, I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. Drawing, I sometimes draw with my IPad, mainly people or characters I like. Japanese animation, I watch Japanese anime every day because I love the world it creates. Video games, some parts of video games are very beautiful and I consider them to be works of art.

• What have you read, listened to, or watched lately?

I’m watching the anime One Piece.

• Describe your very first impression of Slovenia.

I’ve been coming here for 20 years, so I don’t have any first impressions, but I think it’s very beautiful.

• What do you like about Slovenia and what do you miss most from your homeland?

I like the landscape, the lake and river that we can find here. But I prefer the food in France although the food here is not bad.

• Which place on the Slovene coast do you like the most?

The Slovene coast is not big, but I like Piran.

• What makes you enthusiastic?

This is the first time I’ve gone abroad on my own, and I’m happy to see that I can live on my own in a country other than France.

•  Characterize your life’s guidance or an important realization (or epiphany) you have experienced.

Since I’m here I have realize that I want to continue to explore the nature and I want to discover other countries.

• What does the charm of wood mean to you?

Wood is a living material and we have many different woods in the world, for me the charm of wood is its ability to change your mood just by living with it in your home.