Virchow 6 | 阿尔瓦罗·西扎 Alvaro Siza-卓美

Johannes Marburg

Text from Novartis
Multifaceted appearance
The elegant laboratory building on the Rhine front makes a persuasive case with the diversity of its appearance. Facing the Rhine, the building – which is covered in white Portuguese marble – exudes the style of a Venetian palace. The purity, precision and austerity of the architecture are suggestive of its function as a laboratory building. With open display of the technical installations in the interior of the building and on the roof, the architect makes reference to the industrial past of the site.

Johannes Marburg

Breakup of classical organization
The architect located the entrance at a corner and not on the axis of the building, opening the building up to the only public area, the Physic Garden. The consistently austere structure of the facade breaks up in an organic way in the entrance area. The glass front of the vestibule is curved. As a result, you enter the building not in a straight line, but in an S-shaped movement.

Johannes Marburg

Open display of engineering
The open technical control center lies set back on top of the building with a confusion of metallic gleaming pipes, channels, monoblocs, antennae and chimneys. As the actual closure of the building it contrasts with the quiet, noble character of the facade and interior space, as do the visible ceiling installations inside the building.