Description

The new headquarters of NeuroSearch A/S varies a tried and tested building type and a classical plan arrangement.

Situated in an industrial park of rural appeal, the site is dominated by a slope descending 14 m towards the south. The buildings are located at the highest point of the site. The long wings of the complex are gradually terraced down in east-west direction following the contours of the slope in steps of 80 cm.

The plan of the well-tried comb-shaped structure is organised in such a way that it affords views towards Råmosens Nature Reserve from the canteen, the library, and the spaces on the south side. The three laboratory wings with central access corridors show a classical zoning into spaces with or without supplementary installation zones; laboratories face north, studies for theoretical work face south. Hence, undesired solar gain in the laboratories can be avoided. West of the main circulation axis, administrative offices are grouped around little courtyards that are protected from noise coming from the street and parking lots by secondary spaces, thus creating introvert and quiet zones.

The two-storey access wing provides spatial and functional links between the different units. Ramps and stairs bridge the height difference of 2 m resulting from the sloped terrain. Secondary spaces and common meeting rooms are located where the main corridor and the administration wing overlap. The corridor opens up to the western courtyards with three foyers. A footbridge on the first floor links the administrative areas and also connects to the laboratory wings via additional transverse bridges.

At the eastern ends of the laboratory wings the corridors widen into generously glazed spaces; they restore the visual link to the landscape. Like the south façades of the laboratory wings, the south façade of the canteen and library wing is dominated by a large glass-and-aluminium curtain wall. The façades orientated south and west received fixed solar blinds; the laboratory façades to the north show strip windows with glazed and solid panels.

All exterior walls are made of load-bearing concrete elements faced by rendered bricks. The cut-out openings and the flush-mounted window elements give the geometrical and precise building a sculptural appeal.

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Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.