The CERN Science Gateway building is a new visitor and education centre built in Geneva, Switzerland.
It is developed by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN, as part of its aim to engage the public in science and promote scientific education among them.
Recommended Buyers Guides
Science Gateway helps CERN in its outreach to the general public, especially the younger generations.
The science centre is expected to attract 500,000 visitors a year, including researchers, students, families and children.
CERN announced its plan to build a new education and outreach centre in January 2017. The CERN Council, the governing body of CERN, approved the plan in September 2018.
Construction of the project was approved in September 2020, while the first stone was laid in June 2021. The building opened to visitors in October 2023.
Science Gateway Building location
The CERN Science Gateway building is located at CERN’s Meyrin site next to its Globe of Science and Innovation building (Globe) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Other notable CERN buildings at the Meyrin site include the Esplanade des Particules, a space dedicated to welcoming visitors; the Reception building, where guided tours around CERN begin; the main building of CERN, Building 40; and a data centre.
CERN Science Gateway features
Spanning 7,000m² (75,347ft²), the Science Gateway building includes five areas comprising three pavilions and two tubular structures. It houses exhibitions, laboratories for experiments, a large auditorium, educational activities, a restaurant and a shop. A footbridge over the Route de Meyrin connects the areas within the building.
The exhibition spaces provide visitors with an understanding of different aspects of nature, ranging from the basic structure of matter to the evolution of the universe. One can also learn about CERN’s particle accelerators, experiments and computing, and how these experiments benefit society at the exhibition spaces.
The laboratories provide children and primary and high-school students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with scientific experiments. An amphitheatre hosts science events.
CERN plans to develop a programme for schools to teach the concepts of science and technology to students and children in an engaging way, encouraging them to take up studies and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Science Gateway Building design details
The Science Gateway’s design was inspired by CERN facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It celebrates the creativity associated with research and engineering.
The design reflects CERN’s tunnels, experiment caverns and other areas, as well as the equipment used in the research conducted at the particle physics laboratory. The building and the associated structures are made of steel and glass.
CERN’s exhibitions are hosted in two tubular structures, which appear to be suspended in space. Each tube has a length of 80m and a diameter of 10m. A 6m-high bridge connecting the two tube buildings serves as the main artery of the centre.
A central pavilion located above the reception area includes the classrooms. It is also the place where the bridge is linked to the ground through the main vertical circulation.
The north pavilion includes a 900-seat conference room, named after Sergio Marchionne. It can be divided into three independent spaces or two smaller venues, to conduct science shows.
The tunnels were designed with the idea of providing an experience of being within the accelerator tunnels that are 100m below the ground.
The project also included a walkway to the existing public transport stops, as well as a car park with 240 spaces to the north of the Globe.
A total of 1,600t of metal carpentry, 4,320m² of steel facade, 2,060m² of glass facades and 315m² of glass floor were used for the project’s construction.
Sustainability features at Science Gateway
The landscape around the buildings of the Science Gateway comprises 400 trees of indigenous species and 13,000 shrubs. Resembling a forest, the trees are visible from the main areas of the facility. The landscape connects the Science Gateway with the other buildings on the site and the parking area to the north of the Globe.
The project also incorporates 4,000m2 of solar panels and geothermal energy to make the building carbon neutral. Solar collectors measuring 40m x 40m are installed on the three pavilions.
Financing
The project involved an investment of SFr100m ($109.6m). Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) charitable division, the FCA Foundation, contributed SFr45m in April 2019.
Other major organisations that backed CERN’s project included Stellantis, the LEGO Foundation, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Fondation Gelbert and Loterie Romande, as well as Rolex, Solvay, the Fondation Meyrinoise du Casino and Meyrin.
Contractors involved
Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects, a French architecture company, was appointed as the architect for the Science Gateway project. It worked in collaboration with Swiss architecture practice Brodbeck Roulet Architectes Associés.
Atelier Descombes Rampini, a Swiss urban planner, acted as the landscape consultant for the project.
UK-based professional services provider Arup was the consultant for structural engineering and lighting for the project.
A joint venture (JV) that included Italian industrial engineering services company Gruppo Novello assisted in the design and construction of the project. The contractual scope included the design, installation and electro-mechanical assembly, as well as commissioning and acceptance tests of technological systems.
A JV of two Italian civil engineering companies, Impresa Costruzioni Maltauro and Cimolai, served as the general contractor for the construction of the project.
Transsolar, an engineering consultant based in Germany, provided consultancy services related to sustainability, while another German company, Müller BBM, acted as the acoustics consultant.
Emmer Pfenninger, a Swiss-based consultant, provided consultancy services for the facades. Charpente Concept offered fire safety consulting services for the project.
Tinker Imagineers (Tinker), a Netherlands-based design agency, provided the experience design of the exhibition areas within the building in February 2021.
Suppliers involved in the project are Fondazione Promozione Acciaio, Tinker, Bruns, YIPP and Mansveld. Other suppliers are Eckersley O‘Callaghan, EDMS, SRG, Scenarchie and Sunsoak, in addition to Lama and Trafitec.
