huber staudt architekten
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Berlin
best architects 15
public buildings
Place
Berlin
Photos
Werner Huthmacher / Berlin
Description
The new MRI laboratory is part of the »Physics Park« of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lab is located underground, well-shielded, in the former »quartz crystal clock basement« that is adjacent to the lower level of the historic Observatory. A folded green roof becomes part of the park and forms a sculptural entrance to the lab: the »descent« can be read. Visitors, study participants and employees enter the new building through a lobby facing the Observatory. All rooms are located on the sunken lower level and are naturally lit and ventilated via a sloping atrium. Views open up onto the Observatory and the old trees in the »Physics Park«. The glass façade with flush pressure bars and supports clad in polished stainless steel enhance with its reflective immateriality the dynamics of the upward-folding sculptural roof, constructed of fairfaced concrete.