OMA, strictly scientific

OMA, the architecture company of Pritzker-Prizewinner Rem Koolhaas has now designed its first scientific building – for no less a client that France’s most renowned technical college, the “CentraleSupélec”. The building complex goes by the name of “Lab City” and forms the core of a new uni campus in Paris’s Saclay suburb. The architects focused primarily on fostering interdisciplinary cooperation within the university. They therefore designed a grid of individual buildings for the labs and lecture halls, between which they placed large communal areas covered by transparent roofs. The laboratory buildings open onto these communal areas in the form of large roof terraces and balconies where the students can enjoy a great view while working. The heart of “Lab City”: a large inner plaza with seating and hospitality outlets, abutted by the semi-circular main lecture theater. (fap)