The CERN Science Gateway in Geneva, designed by master architect Renzo Piano and his Building Workshop in collaboration with Brodbeck Roulet Architectes Associés, has been announced to open officially on 8 October 2023. The new facility, part of the CERN campus in Switzerland, is entirely dedicated to learning, outreach and science education, set to act as a beacon that celebrates research and innovation, as well as deep knowledge in the field.
CERN Science Gateway: a place for learning
The beauty of science is meant to be front and centre in the function and displays of the new centre. This is a structure conceived as a symbol, advertising its use and hoping to inspire younger generations towards the incredible scope and unparalleled opportunities within the scientific fields. As a result, parts of the new complex have been paying tribute to CERN’s unique, well known facilities, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator.
Piano's signature combination of surfaces in glass and metal, shaped in high tech aesthetics using 21st century technology, was enlisted to craft a series of spaces: exhibition areas, laboratories for visitors of all ages to experiment in, and a 900-people strong auditorium for large scale events for both specialists and the wider public.
CERN Science Gateway's architecture was conceived to be as open and approachable as the programming inside it – transparency being a key part of the concept, alongside its cutting-edge systems.
The project's expansive 'village' of volumes comprises the 'Bridge', an elevated route connecting all different pavilions; the 'Photovoltaic collectors', an energy-producing roof system hovering above the three main pavilions in the complex; the 'Tunnels', two raised tubes containing exhibition space; and the 'Forest', a layer of nature overlaid across the entire venue, bringing everything together in a sea of greenery that unifies nature and human science.
-
‘London of the Future’ provides an optimistic window into the city of 2123The London Society’s new monograph, ‘London of the Future’, attempts to define the role of architecture, design and planning in a far-future capital
-
Dior MakeUp’s Peter Philips crafts looks inspired by design
Dior MakeUp’s creative and image director Peter Philips and photographer Charles Negre combine extravagant make-up with rare ceramics for a one-of-a-kind Wallpaper* story
-
Poetry meets performance in Julianknxx’s film installations at Barbican’s Curve
Julianknxx opens his solo show ‘Chorus in Rememory of Flight’ at Barbican’s Curve, London
-
Herzog & de Meuron’s SIP Main Campus weaves together nature and sculptural concrete
SIP Main Campus, a new workspace by Herzog & de Meuron, completes on the Swiss-French border
-
Studio Tropicana, Switzerland and Italy: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
Based in Switzerland and Italy, Studio Tropicana is part of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
Heir lift: a Swiss architect rebuilds a family legacy in St Moritz
-
Cascading terraces define this concrete apartment building in Basel
A minimalist concrete apartment building in Switzerland features cascading terraces to a design by architects KohlerStraumann
-
Airport jetty by RSHP provides a polychromatic welcome to Switzerland
The Aile Est, or East Wing, at Geneva Airport, a dramatic, polychromatic jetty, is the newest project by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in Switzerland
-
Renzo Piano’s GES-2 V-A-C House of Culture opens in Moscow
The V-A-C Foundation celebrates its new design by Renzo Piano – the GES-2 House of Culture in Moscow, set in a former power station
-
Audemars Piguet factory completes in the Jura mountains
Kuník de Morsier architects is behind the brand new addition to the Audemars Piguet headquarters complex in Switzerland, the Manufacture des Saignoles
-
Fiat’s iconic modernist factory hosts new urban oasis
Fiat’s former Lingotto factory and test track are transformed into Europe’s largest hanging garden – a new urban oasis for Turin
