Saarbrücken, September 16, 2024 - As part of the ongoing expansion of the institute, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) launched an architectural competition in February 2024 to identify a suitable partner for the planning and implementation of its extension buildings. At the jury meeting on August 26 and 27, 2024, the submitted designs were evaluated and four prizes were awarded to international architectural firms.
Following a decision by the Budget Committee in the German Bundestag, the HIPS was granted funding from the federal government and Saarland at the end of 2020, which will enable the institute to expand its space and scientific scope. In order to meet the acute need for laboratory space as quickly and effectively as possible, the spatial expansion will take place in several construction phases. The building application for the first construction phase was submitted at the beginning of 2024 and the corresponding construction work should be completed by the end of 2025.
In February 2024, the institute initiated an architectural competition to find a suitable design as well as the architectural and planning office for the realization of the upcoming construction phases. This was supervised by the Berlin office phase eins and was carried out in close coordination with the HIPS, the funders from the federal and Saarland government, the city of Saarbrücken and the Saarland Chamber of Architects. A total of 68 international architectural firms took part in the Europe-wide competition, 15 of which submitted a design. The designs were assessed at a jury meeting on August 26 and 27, 2024 by a jury of experienced architects, representatives of the federal and Saarland government, Saarland University, the HZI and the city of Saarbrücken. The following prizes were awarded based on the planning drawings and models submitted:
First prize:
Architecture:
Christensen & Co. Architects, Kopenhagen, DK
Code of Practice Architects GmbH, Berlin, D
Landscape architecture:
Gustin Landskab A/S, Aarhus, DK
Second prize:
Architecture:
Heinle Wischer Partnerschaft freier Architekten mbB, Köln, D
Landscape architecture:
brandenfels landscape + environment, Münster, D
Third prize:
Architecture:
Sehw Architektur GmbH, Berlin, D
Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter A/S, Kopenhagen, DK
Landscape architecture:
STED en del af Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter, Kopenhagen, DK
Fourth prize:
Architecture:
gmp international GmbH, Hamburg, D
Landscape architecture:
GTL Landschaftsarchitektur Triebswetter, Mauer, Bruns Partner mbB, Hamburg, D
The HIPS intends to commission the first-placed architectural firm Christensen & Co. (Copenhagen) together with Code of Practice (Berlin) to plan and implement their design. The results of the competition will also be presented in a public exhibition. This is scheduled to take place at HIPS in the fall of this year and will be announced in the coming weeks.
