CIRC - IARC - International Agency for Research on Cancer — Lyon, France
Think Healthy
Healing
17.400 sqm
CIRC - Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer
| Delivery | 2022 |
| Total area | 17.400 sqm |
| Client | AGENCE POUR LA RECHERCHE SUR LE CANCER |
| Architect | ARTBUILD / UNANIME |
| Technical partners | WSP / INDDIGO / ILEX / DEMATHIEU BARD |
Next generation bioinsipration
The commission for the new headquarters of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon is the latest in a string of projects for high profile and prestigious institutions. Following award-winning buildings for the Council of Europe, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medecines in Strasbourg, and the European Food Safety Authority in Parma, Italy, IARC headquarters for the World Health Organisation will not only create a new environmental benchmark, it will also reinforce and regenerate the urban and economical fabric of this central neighbourhood at the heart of Lyon.
Calling upon a decade of research and development into biomimetic design, the building draws its inspiration from the extraordinary intelligence and design that nature has itself developed and displayed. Two innovative techniques are deployed to provide passive solar protection to the building, both activated and driven solely by the sun’s energy. To the courtyard façade, shape memory materials inspired by flower petals open and close according to the sun’s movements, whereas to the outer facades, a glazed envelope sequentially reveals organic motifs as integrated thermo-reactive pixels become opaque. The building’s bio-inspired architecture is further expressed through the integration of timber elements for which ArtBuild has long been a pioneer and industry leader.
In collaboration with Unanime.
Pictures: copyright Orbrs
