In the heart of Basque Country, Bjarke Ingels unveils a striking modular building devoted to culinary research

A new research hub for the Basque Culinary Center, a respected academic institution devoted to the research and celebration of food, has opened in San Sebastián, Spain in a striking 9,000 sq m facility designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Called the Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, the building contains spaces for cutting-edge food science and the public alike.

Famed for training illustrious chefs in the craft of fine dining, the Basque Culinary Center has stood on the city’s outskirts since 2011, but this new €26 million development is located in the bustling Gros neighbourhood. The cascading design, which drew from the crashing waves of the Basque Country’s coastline, also acknowledges Mount Ulía just beyond.

'This is a place where the city meets the mountain,' says architect Bjarke Ingels, who first visited San Sebastián while studying architecture in Barcelona, 'so it’s also a meeting place for disciplines and cultures.'

The five-storey building includes flexibly-designed spaces that can be adapted for work, leisure and learning. Different levels are colour-coded by shades of pink corresponding with meat cooking grades: rare, medium and well-done. Windowed partitions create what Ingels calls 'vitrines' containing laboratories, classrooms and workshops, while the glass facade allows bystanders a glimpse of what’s cooking inside.

Public walkways and green areas lead around and above the site. There is an outdoor amphitheatre at the back, while the rooftop gardens offer a view of Zurriola beach, popular with surfers. The institute also stands on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage traversing northern Spain, which means trekkers have a striking new landmark to admire along the route.

The building's profile resembles a wave of moving water, yet there are no curved lines in the structure. 'Everything is made with modular elements,' Ingels explains. 'There is a symphonic quality to these rational elements coming together to create the illusion of a wave.'

A brise-soleil adds to this feeling of dynamism and also, according to BIG architect João Albuquerque, shades the interiors.

The rust-red building is clad in weathering steel, a move that recalls the monumental works of the late Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, whose open-air museum is in nearby Hernani. Ingels says he was drawn to the richness, weight and industrial energy of the metal and also to Chillida’s 'gently curving rectangular geometry,' which informed the dynamic modules.

Simplicity, according to Ingels, is a crucial ingredient in both architecture and gastronomy. 'It's like making a dish with the simplest ingredients,' he says, 'but it’s the magic of the kitchen that brings out something incredible.'