Levitt Bernstein and local architects TKMT have built a new building for the Institut Laue-Langevin science Center. There are plans to hold meetings of researchers and scientists.

Ekaterina Karpukhina

Benjamin Gremen

The design of the new visitor center belonging to the Institut Laue-Langevin was chosen through an international competition in 2019. The winners were Levitt Bernstein and the local studio TKMT — they proposed a project inspired by the subject of the institute’s research — neutrons.

«The new building has an intricate appearance,» the architects say. «The thin perforated «ribs» on the facade have a biconvex shape inspired by the neutron diffraction process.» In addition, these panels scatter direct rays of the sun and create a comfortable microclimate in space, as well as change the appearance of the building in different weather conditions and different angles.

The center will become a meeting place for scientists who conduct molecular experiments. They will have access to a variety of modern equipment of the institute and a convenient platform for work. Conference halls and laboratories will also be located here.

According to the architects’ idea, the building should be both open to the public and at the same time private and safe for scientists. Therefore, the center was divided into private and public zones.

Openness is symbolized by a double-height glazed foyer, in which a concrete spiral staircase is visible. It, like a sculpture, decorates the space and demonstrates to passers-by the life of the center — both day and night people walk on it.

For scientists, there are a number of secluded laboratories — all of them are as flexible as possible and are able to adapt to different needs. For example, many of the walls here are mobile, which means that they can be used to make one large space for events or many small rooms.

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