Lifestyle
New science center being built in the shape of a BRAIN
Described as “the first of its kind in the world," the design has been proposed to utilize the limited site area most efficiently.
By Dean Murray via SWNS
A new science center will be built – in the shape of a BRAIN.
The Danish Neuroscience Center (DNC) will be housed in a building that mimics the folds of the cerebral cortex.
Architects BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group’s 19,000 m2 design proposal for Aarhus University Hospital will bring together psychiatry and neuroscience under one roof.
Described as “the first of its kind in the world," the design has been proposed to utilize the limited site area most efficiently while creating synergies between the different disciplines within the hospital.
Established in 2009, The DNC has become a world-class research and treatment facility for understanding and treating the most complex, efficient and adaptive organ in our body – the brain.
The new building for DNC, set to open in 2026, will connect directly with the existing campus of Aarhus University Hospital.
BIG’s initial proposal for the six-story neuroscience center sees the building rendered in an organic skin-tone color pallet.
They explain: “Natural materials throughout the building such as wood and brick will bring positive health benefits and a comforting atmosphere to the patients and guests.
“The red concrete of the exterior will blend well with the existing brick buildings and bring warmth to the spaces, contrasting the usual clinical and sanitized white environment of hospitals.”
Each department from neurology to nuclear medicine, headache clinic and psychiatry has its own distinct space and program functions.
BIG say: “By folding the floor plan around an atrium, similar to the characteristic folds in the cerebral cortex, the design not only allows each floor to reach the necessary square footage within a limited area.
"It also creates a number of connections and smaller clusters with intimate workspaces, courtyards and views between each floor within the hospital.”
The project aims for a DGBN Gold sustainability certification for hospitals in Denmark.