Basel, Switzerland
Located on the Novartis Campus, the Novartis Pavilion by AMDL CIRCLE, Michele De Lucchi, and iart – studio for media architectures is the first publicly accessible building on the site that aims to promote a dialogue about life sciences and become a resource that showcases the past, present, and future of healthcare.
The Milan-based practice was appointed to design the new structure following an international design competition in 2017 organized by Novartis under the creative direction of Vittorio Lampugnani.
As a place of learning, knowledge, and exchange for the general public, the pavilion brings the world of science and medicine closer to the community.
The building’s dome-like shape is wrapped by a total of 10,000 diamond-shaped solar modules combining organic photovoltaics and LEDs, giving a shimmering effect to its “skin.”
It owns a distinctive, zero-energy media façade that plays a symbolic role in the architecture.
Amdl Circle has carried out a series of parametric design studies to define the geometry and graphic image of the façade, which was further designed and engineered in collaboration with iart.
The façade uses a new generation of organic photovoltaic and a grid of LED lights to screen the works of three international artists, Daniel Canogar, Esther Hunziker, and Semiconductor.
“Their design and physical properties make these organic solar modules ideal for use on the dome-shaped Novartis Pavillon,” says iart – studio for media architectures.
“They can be produced in various shapes and are bendable, translucent, and extremely light-sensitive, enabling them to be installed in spots not ideally oriented towards the sun.”
“They also contain less grey energy than silicon solar modules, making them interesting from a sustainability perspective,” adds the office.
Project: Novartis Pavilion
Architects: AMDL CIRCLE and Michele De Lucchi
Architects of Record: iart – studio for media architectures
Design Team: Anna Schiaretti, Guido Tarantola, Greta Rosset, Francesco Garofoli, and Elena Naldi
Construction Supervisor: Blaser Butscher Architekten AG
Client: Novartis
Photographers: Laurids Jensen
