Globe of Science and Innovation

Globe of Science and Innovation in Meyrin

Ceiling construction in the Globe

Globe Conference Center

Suspended ceiling in the Globe

The Globe of Science and Innovation ( French Globe de la Science et de l'Innovation , German Globe of Science and Innovation ) is a spherical house near the Swiss municipality of Meyrin , which has served as an extension of the visitor center at CERN for events and exhibitions since 2004 .

prehistory

The building was designed by the architects Thomas Büchi and Hervé Dessimoz from Geneva . In doing so, they followed a basic statement by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor , who at the Expo 2000 in Hanover addressed the material wood as a material for exterior facades. In order to present this principle to the public, the Swiss pavilion was provided with resistant wooden elements during the Expo in 2000 and the use of renewable raw materials on the facade of a building was made clear.

The building

In order to further strengthen the sustainability concept in the building material and to present it again to the public, the board elements of the Swiss pavilion were used at the Expo 2000 in Hanover for a new building in Switzerland. This spherical house made from it was shown for the first time at the 6th Swiss National Exhibition in 2002 ( Expo.02 ). As part of this event, it was named Le Palais de l'Equilibre and was used to present topics related to sustainability . After the exhibition was closed, the search for further use was made of the building that had previously been in the Neuchâtel exhibition area .

It was finally located in 2004 on an area opposite the CERN visitor center on the western outskirts of Meyrin and it has been called the Globe of Science and Innovation ever since . The management of CERN used the opening of this spherical structure for the official celebrations for the 50th anniversary of this European research facility. This event took place on October 19, 2004. The Globe has been available for public use since September 16, 2005.

The main level in the building has since been used as a room for conferences, film screenings, temporary exhibitions, receptions and other events. The lower level is used as an exhibition on the development and activities of CERN. Since 2010 it has housed the permanent exhibition Universe of Particles , designed by Atelier Brückner together with iart.

The building has a diameter of 40 meters and an outer skin made of wooden elements. The spherical structure, which is flattened at the bottom, is 27 meters high. Two spiral ramps allow visitors to walk between the inner and outer shell of the building. The woods of larch , spruce , pine , Douglas fir and Canadian maple were used for the wooden construction . The raw wood comes from natural stocks in Switzerland.

The intended symbolic message of this building is the thought that wood is of great importance for the future of planet earth and should be the building material with the highest ecological value.