Joint Research Centre
The proposal for the New JRC occupies the plot along the East-West axis, orienting the main reception space towards the Caixa Forum building, along the North-South axis. This allows for a simple organization of traffic flows, while freeing up pedestrian accesses from the South side. The area in front consequently becomes a central area within the urban complex, favouring its use as a meeting place. Surrounded by unique buildings with strong presences, the building chooses not to compete with another unique form; indeed, it materializes by composing a landscape and re-naturalizing the area in which it is inserted.
The four suspended gardens that compose the architecture define a proposal that is open, reminiscent of the landscape of the place. Large voids, traditional patio-like spaces, connect the program at different levels, allowing the continuous movements of the researchers who inhabit the building. The limits between the interior and the exterior are blurred; having the possibility of extending daily work activities outside, the proposal generates work situations that are not limited to a chair-desk configuration, enabling researchers to identify with their environment and turning their day-to-day life into an enriched personal experience.