Helmholtz Institute
The extension building appears as an independent building on the southern slope of a hill in Jena known as the Landgrafen. Between the villa-like residential development and large-scale research buildings, a cube was placed efficiently and in a way that conveys its comparative scale. The ideal shape of the cube offers not only an optimal surface-area-to-volume ratio but also effective central spatial organisation. Above a high-performance laser line connection underground that is essential to the building’s function rises are reinforced concrete skeleton.The ground floor on the slope level accommodates the laboratories. A bridge on the first floor at street level provides the main entrance to the offices and seminar room, which also serves as a foyer, maximising the space.There are more offices on the second floor. Both the construction design and the façade allow for long-term spatial flexibility, with the potential for adjustments or conversions. Sculptural cut-outs in the façade form a structural grid and create a play of light and shadow across the surfaces. The windows, entrances and loggias are conceived as «puncture points» in the relief of the outer shell that generate connections between inside and outside. The changeability of the appearance of the façades on all sides with changing light conditions, including the formation of shadows in the wall niches and the shadows cast by trees, and not least the shading elements that transform the windows into closed surfaces, symbolises the interaction of light and material that takes place in the research carried out at the Helmholtz Institute.
