Novartis Pavillon

The Novartis Pavillon is an architecture with a circular plan that hosts an education and information centre where the firm is presented in an innovative way. It is not only a representative building for the company, but is intended to go beyond this: a flexible architecture for events and exhibitions the technological façade of which itself becomes communicative content. AMDL CIRCLE has combined the functional demands of the building with the potential for attraction of an artistic installation that powers itself. Educational, exhibition- and reception-oriented and dynamic, conceived to favour meetings between people.
The layout plan of the Novartis Pavillon is inspired by the universal symbology of the circle, considered a powerful field of psychophysical energy, a sacred area in which all the physical and spiritual forces are concentrated. Since the architecture itself must communicate energy, inspire and promote connections between different voices and cultures.
The Novartis Pavillon is intended to be a place of welcome, a land of meeting between the city of Basle and the company, which here declares its vocation to devote itself to the health of the community. The location of the building immediately outside the perimeter of the Campus devoted to biomedical research, in a public park, is one of the key points of the project: it is a matter of creating an interface with customers and visitors in an open, transparent way. The park is designed by Günther Vogt, who reconstructs the natural phenomena of the terraces of the Rhine on a small scale, merging them with the vegetation in an evocative landscape. The Pavillon is accessible via three different points: from the Campus, from the pedestrian walkway that runs alongside the river and from the car park. Its location on high ground enables it not only to dominate the context from above but also to maintain the harmony of the routes of the park in an uninterrupted way. Access to the internal courtyard takes place through the terracing on which the pavilion rests, and the passage beneath the architecture symbolically represents the integration between a strongly characterised building and the context into which it is inserted.
The ring-shaped plan is structured on two levels plus a mezzanine. The ground floor is dedicated to reception and orientation for visitors, in addition to providing spaces for education, meetings and events. Adjacent to the entrance foyer are a bar and a check-in area that includes an informal space for the presentation of publications or scientific and cultural documents associated with Novartis. The space is highly flexible and easily reconfigurable to enable the company’s internal activities – laboratories, hackathons, presentations of projects – but also to welcome visiting groups such as local schools and associations. The employment of acoustic curtains to divide up the spaces and the extensive use of digital technologies make it a model of an avant-garde information centre. The green-grey colour of the textiles is chosen to recall the natural tones of the park.
In the mezzanine, a multimedia theatre, with stepped terracing, acts as a pivotal point between the ground floor and the upper one, introducing to visitors the themes of the “Wonders of Medicine” exhibition curated by Studio Bruckner.
The exhibition space located on the upper floor is a circular gallery, fluid, without walls or dividing elements and very tall, also incorporating the attic space. The double-pitch roof confers on the section the form of a large nose cone, from the summit of which artificial light is irradiated, lighting up the gallery to create a suffused and secluded, almost sacred atmosphere, as in an ancient cathedral. The structure of this floor, left exposed, is realised thanks to advanced techniques for working glued laminated timber that have enabled segments to be created that are pre-assembled and easily positionable in situ. The wood has been whitened to make the context more contemporary, though without losing the imprint of the natural material.
The Novartis Pavillon has the function of involving visitors in the understanding of scientific and pharmacological progress. For this reason the upper floor is designed to welcome a popular science exhibition, which is not intended to be a vertical transfer of knowledge but an experience of interaction between visitors and the idea of health. AMDL CIRCLE has designed the spaces to welcome “Wonders of Medicines”: interactive walls and a refined range of projection techniques allow an infinite flexibility of layout design, functional to the company’s communication demands. The inclined profile of the roof becomes an integral part of the itinerary, like a large canvas on which to organise ever new stories. The exhibition is experienced along a circular route, passing through five sections that occupy the entire perimeter. Making Medicine introduces the themes on display; The Wonder of Life tells how illnesses and treatments influence patients’ lives; From Lab to Patients shows the production processes of a medicine; Turning Points is focused on the history of Novartis; and Future of Healthcare considers the use of new technologies to improve the quality of life.
Light characterises the spaces in a distinctive manner: the ground floor does not have walls, but glass all round, through which natural light enters the space without interrupting contact with the exterior. The ceiling has tracks and technical equipment fitted to attach curtains, projectors and spotlights. The atmosphere is completely different on the upper floor. The artificial lights, adjustable in terms of colour and intensity, run along the top of the roof and are combined with the light effects of the monitors on the walls, entirely animated by video installations. The result is an immersive environment that makes visitors feel they are inside the world of science, research and the evolution of knowledge.
The external façade plays a symbolic role in the architecture designed for Novartis, staging the company’s values and commitment to the popularisation of scientific knowledge. A multimedia membrane, which covers the upper part of the pavilion, is prepared technologically to communicate significant images. AMDL CIRCLE has undertaken a series of parametric design studies to define the geometry and graphic image of the façade, which has subsequently been engineered by iArt. A sustainable energy system has come to be realised: a spatial structure with a diagonal grid, placed at a distance of 50 cm from the metal roof, has a new generation of double-sided solar panels and a grid of LED lights integrated in it. The system has the capacity to power itself and provides a huge continuous and dynamic screen, which can be viewed from every cardinal point. To express the potential of this innovative façade, Novartis has launched a competition among digital artists. Daniel Canogar, Esther Hunziker and Semi Conductor have been selected, and have collaborated with the scientists to develop light installations inspired by the forms and colours of cells and molecules, as well as by the themes of sustainability and the convergence between art and science.
AMDL CIRCLE has curated a personalised furnishing project for the Novartis Pavillon that has been realised by Produzione Privata, the firm created by Michele De Lucchi to produce experimental design objects and to support the craftsmanship sector. Particular attention has been devoted to the choice of natural wood, oak, a warm, resistant wood, with breathable properties. Furnishings have been realised with this wood that convey the idea of domestic, non-institutional comfort. The Benedetto tables and Bacchetta sofas are iconic products from the Produzione Privata catalogue; the Possum stools, designed ad hoc for the Novartis Pavillon, are playful and inviting seats that, thanks to the curved body perforated in the centre, allow visitors to move them freely, personalising the use of the space according to their own imagination and needs. These stools can be easily combined, moved or put away when not in use. The lighting of the cafeteria on the floor is entrusted to the transparency of the hand-crafted glass of the Acquatinta lamp.