Description

The renowned Swiss-based pharmaceutical company required an economical laboratory building of extremely high and sustainable flexibility to be built on a relatively tight site with unfavourable proportions. The extensive programme included a great number of biomolecular laboratories, a few special laboratories, and animal testing facilities; it led to a building highly equipped with technical services. The layout had to ensure that expected conversions resulting from frequent changes of use can be conducted efficiently and cause as few disruptions to the scientific operations as possible. At the same time, the large technical building was to maintain a communicative and friendly profile.

The architects solved the demanding task by a skilful use of the site, a structural system that provides flexibility, and an exemplary arrangement of the functional areas. Three staggered volumes break down these areas into single building parts to create a well-balanced distribution of the enormous building mass. All buildings comprise three laboratory floors, each with a service floor on top. This enables horizontal service ducts to connect to all laboratories via individual shafts; central installation cores are installed only at the gable ends. The relatively high expenditures for this layout including a large extent of mechanical services provide maximum flexibility in the event of future conversions or maintenance of services and will minimise disruptions to the operations.

The central building part with perimeter dimensions of 62 m x 73 m accommodates an animal testing laboratory and special laboratories for magnetic resonance based display systems.

Both end modules with perimeter dimensions of 55 m x 72 m respectively are split into two parts and comprise a full height, light-flooded inner hall with a water pond whose fountains are to dampen the noise coming from the laboratories. The storeys on either side of the hall are accessed via galleries and comprise five different zones. The central dark zone contains equipment and secondary spaces while the outer zones contain flexible open plan laboratories. As sufficient daylight enters the atrium, narrow zones with work desks are positioned on the sides facing it. Seminar rooms and vertical access cores are located at the gable ends.

The prefabricated concrete structure with storey-high, 27 m long Vierendeel girders spanning the column-free laboratory areas accommodates interstitial technical floors to provide maximum flexibility with regard to building services.

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