Schneider & Schneider Architekten

Description

Surrounded by the main traffic axes Murtenstrasse and the railway tracks, the new laboratory and office complex for the University of Bern has been built near the main railway station. The new building, embedded in the long-term development of the Insel site, concentrates the medical institutes in the immediate vicinity of the university hospital. The extensive spatial programme finds its structural counterpart in a six-storey structure that integrates well into the urban context with a ground floor that recedes on all sides. The main access for users is via three main entrances in the ground floor base in the pedestrian zone. The requirements that a modern laboratory building of this size has to meet, such as maximum flexibility of use, naturally lit laboratory and work spaces, as well as sophisticated building services structures – all of which must be fulfilled – are integrated into the interior structure of the tripartite building. The users benefit from the repetitive standard floor plans. The repetitive and modular floor plan structure is also reflected in the design of the façade. This type of façade division, consisting of base and superstructure, leads to a calm and timeless overall expression. The materialisation of coloured concrete establishes a relationship to the surrounding traditional sandstone façades.