Experimental Laboratory XLAB

Göttingen, 2004

The Göttingen Experimental Laboratory for Young People - XLAB - was given a building suitable for it, that means an experimental building. Almost cube-shaped, it dominates the new center of the northern university area and with its strong colors breathes a bit of colorful life into the gray campus. Supported by four "elephant feet", a prestressed concrete grid floats above the roof, from which the edges of the ceiling are suspended on thin steel cables. The suspended house enables a formally completely independent ground floor and the point-symmetrical rotation of the upper floors around the central atrium. The sky can be seen through the highly transparent foil cushion roof.

Data

Competition 2001 / 1st prize
Completion 2005
Client University Construction Management Göttingen
Gross floor area 2,560 m²
Gross volume 9,123 m³

Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 8
37077 Göttingen

Awards
Steel Innovation Award 2006
Architecture + Technology Award 2005, honourable mention
Galileo Architecture Award 2007, 1st prize
BDA Award Niedersachsen 2006

Expanded metal
Smoothly shuttered exposed concrete
Profile glass
Steel sandwich elements
colored varnished