Research laboratory WSJ-352 Ando-Building Novartis Campus

Tadao Ando’s vision for the Novartis research building is a gem that will be set precisely at the boundary of the campus grounds. The architectural design is intended to reflect the desired objectives of hygiene, purity and perfection.

Although so far under contract for one building, Tadao Ando is already conceptualizing two structures with a shared gate at the northern access to the campus. Three stories higher than the 22.5 m of the other new buildings of the complex per master plan, these “twin buildings” define the empty space between them and line up directly with the “Dirk’s Pod” sculpture by Richard Serra. As provided for in the master plan, both buildings feature a spacious arcade with their main entryways facing the plaza.

The ground floor with the general-use rooms and the spacious lobby serves as a pivotal point and distributor to the upper and below-ground levels. The vertical access doors for people, goods and media are located in central and compact fashion in a long core extending parallel to the northern façade, thus creating on the upper levels large, interconnected, flexible work spaces for offices, laboratories and research units.