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MOLECULAR BIOLOGY INSTITUTE, DRESDEN, GERMANY
ARCHITECT
HEIKKINEN-KOMONEN
Providing an open forum for a closed scientific community, this new research institute in Dresden civilizes its large scale by inventive use of materials and light.
Biotechnology is one of the two specialist fields (the other being microelectronics), on which Dresden is rebuilding its post- 1989 economy. The Max Planck Institute (MPI) has assumed a leading role in 'Biopolis Dresden' by founding a new international molecular cell biology and genetic research centre. A made-tomeasure building solution was speedily agreed on when a promising group of scientists threatened to move to a city more sensitive to their needs. Dresden's hospital handed over a site they had reserved for their future extension and the usual architectural competition process was dispensed with. The Finnish practice Heikkinen-Komonen were commissioned as architects, working with Munich-based HENN Architekten for their expertise on highly serviced buildings.
The new research institute is a post-genomic era organization operating in a global context. Over 300 scientists from 26 countries work in 25 groups mapping out cell biology. Geographically, Dresden is a convenient central European meeting point and the building site, between university medical faculty and hospital, was chosen to maximize multidisciplinary...