Atelier d’Architecture Michel Remon has been announced as the winner of the Open International Competition for the Tel Aviv University Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Centre. The French company has a history of designing buildings for technological purposes, including the National Research Centre for Scientific Research (Meudon, suburb of Paris), the Physics and Biology Laboratories for Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, suburb of Paris), the National Solar Energy Institute (Savoy), and the Paris-Saclay Research Сentre of Air Liquide. In Tel Aviv, a matrix of vertical lines creates a “skin” over a three story, 6,000 square meter structure that will house 12 research labs – including those for physical, biophysical, and neural engineering, as well as molecular electronics, and others – in addition to offices and public areas. Once complete, the building will house 120 scientists and engineers as collaborators with one of the most significant universities in Israel.
“We chose this competition because we like to challenge areas where science meets human endeavor and progress,” says architect Alexis Peyer. “Nanoscience and nanotechnologies are one of the humanity's greatest endeavors. The most interesting and challenging aspect of this project was to design a very technical building specifically for scientific research while keeping a strong and iconic architecture dedicated to the Tel Aviv University campus.”
The project requires exceedingly high precision – similar project often require errors not in excess of 1 millimeter per every 100 square meters – in what is called “complete design accuracy.” As labs typically consume five times more water and energy than a typical home or office, particular measures have been taken to ensure sustainability. These strategies include the vertical panels, which will help regulate natural light, special glass, which will optimize sun energy, solar panels and natural ventilation, which will be used for cooling, and a collection system that will retain and recycle rainwater.
Atelier d’Architecture Michel Remon was named a finalist for the project in March, along with Zarhy+StudioPEZ Architects and Jestico+Whiles+Associates. The Competition stipulated that the University initiate private negotiations with each finalist to declare a winner by May 1st. The competition was launched on October 12th of last year and organized by Strelka KB, a leading urban planning consultancy for architectural competitions. The project is expected to be completed in 2020.
