Research Center: The Latest Architecture and News

Established in 2023 to protect nearly 13,000 hectares of the Vjosa River Region Park, the Vjosa National Park Europe’s first “wild river national park.” Danish architecture CEBRA has been selected to design a multifunctional visitor center and information center in the newly protected space. Located in Përmet, Tepelenë, and Vlorë in Southern Albania, the Vjosa Wild River National Park features a 190-kilometer-long free-flower river. CEBRA’s design supports conservation efforts and investigates how visitors can engage with their respective ecosystems.

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Henning Larsen and Ramboll have won the competition to design the new campus for the prestigious scientific research center, CERN. Designed to integrate science and nature, the B777 building uses biogenic materials and low-carbon methods to reimagine traditional laboratory settings. Situated on the border of France and Switzerland, in CERN’s Prévessin Campus, the scheme aims to foster a sense of community, collaboration, and well-being.

Mecanoo, in collaboration with Meng Architects and LOLA Landscape Architects, has been selected as the winner of the international design competition for the design of the Shenzhen Guangming Scientist Valley. The aim of the project is to create a facility for research and innovation that is also engaging for a larger public while also being integrated and coexisting with the surrounding natural environment. The project includes an area of approximately 1.2 square kilometers located in a strategic place to serve the larger scientific community, from Guangdong, to Hong Kong, and Macao.

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The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles (NHMLAC) announced the selection of Kossmanndejong (KDJ) as the firm that will lead the design of exhibition spaces and develop visitor experiences to reimagine the La Brea Tar Pits. As the world’s only active paleontological research site in an urban setting, KDJ will work through many design verticals, such as architecture, landscaping, and programming. KDJ, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was chosen through an international search and competitive process to provide creative and interpretive strategies for the site-wide redesign in Hancock Park. KDJ will collaborate with the architectural and landscape design team led by WEISS/MANFREDI and Los Angeles-based Gruen Associates, who NHMLAC recently named Executive Architect of the Year.

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have been selected to design the New York Climate Exchange in partnership with Stony Brook University, a public research institute in New York. The new net-zero campus, located on Governors Island, New York, is planned to serve as an anchor institution for the development of new climate solutions. As a first-of-its-kind international center, “The Exchange” will also act as a regional hub for the green economy.

For many, schools and kindergartens represent the first contact with public architecture. They, together with every educational facility, serve as the foundation for learning and knowledge dissemination, playing an important role in shaping the formative years of children and young adults. In consequence, these buildings need to respond to the needs of different age groups, while creating functional and flexible spaces for learning, but also for play and unstructured interaction. Light and ventilation needs contribute to the complexity of these architectural programs. However, designing educational facilities presents opportunities for innovation and creative expression, as they are required to adapt continuously to the changing needs of students and faculty while creating a conductive environment for learning.

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights designs submitted by the ArchDaily community dedicated to cultural institutions. From a learning center created to offer the girls in Mozambique an equal opportunity to learn, play and connect, to a naval station redesigned as a research center on the coast of Puerto Rico, this selection features projects created to encourage learning, curiosity, and the exchange of knowledge and expertise. The article includes designs from both established and emerging architectural practices, including Moore Ruble Yudell, C+S ARCHITECTS led by Carlo Cappai and Maria Alessandra Segantini, Hello Wood, and snkh studio.

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MVRDV has won a competition to design the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) Campus in Heilbronn, Germany. The campus will be transformed into a world-leading site for developing AI technologies. The design will include a variety of business campus laboratories, a startup innovation center, housing, a communication center, and many amenities, such as a restaurant and a kindergarten. Moreover, the scheme also embeds interactive touchpoints for curious visitors to see the development of these world-changing technologies firsthand and interact with the minds behind their creations.

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URB to develop the world's largest agritourism destination in Dubai, providing food security and to foster sustainability of the local communities, heritage, and cultural landscapes. In line with the city's ambition of making its rural areas restorative land facilities, "Agri Hub" targets to create 10,000 new jobs across various sectors, including a new agricultural research institute and a public farm for educational and retail purposes.

Zaha Hadid Architects and Architects 61 unveiled the design for the new Science Center in the Jurong Lake District, Singapore. The 52,460 square meters complex aims to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) more accessible through specialized amenities, educational programs, and interactive experiences. The building is expected to open in 2027, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the Science Center and aligns with the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

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Architecture and design practice Brooks + Scarpa has announced that the new Ramos Collaboratory Building for the University of Florida’s School of Design Construction and Planning has broken ground. This extension will add nearly 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of educational spaces to the existing college, which is also undergoing significant remodeling. The new building will include reconfigurable, multi-functional spaces where the students, faculty, and staff can collaborate both formally and informally. The building is anticipated to be completed in early 2025.

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A new urban tech district is planned for the Creekside of Al Jaddaf area in Dubai. Developed by URB, the district aims to generate over four thousand jobs in urban technologies, education, and training, while also welcoming entrepreneurs to encourage a collaborative tech ecosystem. The district will provide facilities for training, research, conferences, business incubations, shared-desk spaces, and dedicated offices. It will also be home to an urban tech institute, which hopes to drive innovation by investing in applied research and by enabling public-private partnerships.

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Selected among five invited architects including OMA, Snøhetta, 3XN, and Toyo Ito & Associates., the BIG-designed building for the Basque Culinary Center, is a new food tech hub located in San Sebastian, Spain. TheGastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe) is in fact a 9,000 m2 project that seeks to push forward the art and science of gastronomic innovation, bringing together food start-ups, researchers, and chefs. Currently in progress, the building will focus on the development of alternative proteins, agricultural robotics, the prevention of food waste, and much more.

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Foster + Partners has recently completed the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, a new research facility within the Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus. The design features an array of flexible laboratories arranged in two parallel wings around an open central courtyard, which recreates the surrounding landscape through its citrus trees and water stream. The distinctive facade screen represents the neurological brain structure, as drawn by Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal at the beginning of the 20th century.

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After the Wadden Sea Center in Denmark and the Trilateral Wadden Sea World Heritage Partnership Center in Germany, the Wadden Sea World Heritage Center marks Dorte Mandrup’s third project in this unique environment. Created as a spiraling movement upwards and around, rising from the harbor, the Wadden Sea World Heritage Center is a “working field station that wants to engage visitors and aims at making them active participants”.

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Zaha Hadid Architects has designed the future of Huanggang Port Area, creating a hub of scientific research and collaboration in industries in Shenzhen, China. The new proposed master plan puts in place “an important node of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Corridor”, through the reconstruction of the port building as well as the transformation of its empty lots into the national center for technology innovation.

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Focusing on research, education, and public engagement, the Trust for Governors Island unveiled plans to develop a climate solutions center, designed by WXY Architecture + Urban Design. Inspired by the unique environment of the island, the project will generate a public living laboratory, cementing NYC’s position as a leader in climate change action.

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Bringing together technical experts in different fields to address issues of global importance, Fabien Cousteau, first grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (FCOLC) announced the inception of PROTEUS, “the world’s most advanced underwater scientific research station and habitat to address humanity’s most critical concerns”. Conceived as the underwater version of the International Space Station, the project is designed by Yves Behar and fuseproject.