Skip to main content

Five teams of architects will compete to design and build the new BIST building in the Antic Mercat del Peix

By October 20, 2020January 4th, 2021Press Release, BIST

• The five selected teams (Barozzi Veiga, Pich-Aguilera / 2BMFG Arquitectes / JG Ingenieros, Moneo Brock / Baas / Casa Solo, BIG + IDOM, and Woods Bagot) were chosen from 34 applications received in the International Architecture Competition that was launched by BIST in July.

• The BIST building is the first piece of the Antic Mercat del Peix knowledge ‘hub’, part of the ambitious ‘Ciutadella del Coneixement’ initiative

Barcelona, ​​October 20th, 2020. The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) announced today the teams selected to compete for the design and construction of its new building in the Antic Mercat del Peix. The five teams were chosen out of 34 applications. They are: Barozzi Veiga (Barcelona), Pich-Aguilera / 2BMFG Arquitectes / JG Ingenieros (Barcelona), Moneo Brock / Baas / Casa Solo (Madrid / Barcelona), BIG + IDOM (Denmark / Spain), and Woods Bagot (Australia).

The BIST International Architecture Competition’s selection committee is made up of Chairperson Dr. Jordi Camí, (Director of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park – PRBB), Oriol Clos Costa (Architect), Beth Galí (Architect appointed by the College of Architects of Catalunya), Xavier Matilla (Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council), Sito Alarcón (Biologist), Ramon Sagarra (Industrial Engineer), and Margarida Corominas (Doctor of Economics and Managing Director of IRB Barcelona). The committee valued not only the architectural quality and creativity of the applications, but also their technical abilities in areas such as structures, facilities, and sustainability. They also highlighted that the applicants had previous experience in the design and construction of buildings dedicated to research.

Regarding the selection, Beth Galí ​​pointed out that “this competition has attracted considerable interest in the field of architecture, both nationally and internationally. The response to the call proves it. The best architects in the world have applied. Selecting five was therefore an extremely complex task. The selection committee valued the quality and trajectory of the applicants, paying special attention to the diverse perspectives that the selected teams can contribute, and taking into account the capacity for innovation, as well as for offering young architects the opportunity to be part of the competition.”

The selected teams:


BAROZZI VEIGA
– This studio, created in 2004 in Barcelona by Fabrizzio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga, received the 2015 Mies Van der Rohe European Architecture Prize for the Philharmonic Hall Szczecin (Poland), among many other accolades. In 2019, they received the “Best Architects 20” Award and the Chicago Athenaeum International Award for the Bündner Museum of Fine Arts in Chur (Switzerland). The Tanzhaus Cultural Centre in Zürich and the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne are also among the studio’s preeminent buildings, having received wide international recognition. To undertake this project, the studio has a technical team (specialists in structures, facilities, and the environment) with ample experience constructing laboratories and research centres in Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany.

PICH-AGUILERA / 2BMFG ARQUITECTES / JG INGENIEROS – This team brings together two prestigious Barcelona architecture studios with experience designing buildings dedicated to research, and a large engineering firm whose projects can be found all over the world. Pich-Aguilera and 2BMFG have previously worked together on the design and construction of the Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute. The Pich-Aguilera studio also designed the Sant Joan de Reus Hospital building and the 22@ Leitat Technological Center, while 2BMFG Arquitectes was responsible for the second phase construction of the Barcelona Scientific Park. Some members of the technical team have also been involved with scientific projects including the construction of the headquarters of ICFO and ICIQ, both BIST centres, and the CIBEK – Esther Koplowitz Center for Biomedical Research.

MONEO BROCK / BAAS / CASA SOLO – The Madrid-based Moneo Brock Studio has designed the Northwest Corner Building (2010) at Columbia University (New York) to house research laboratories, as well as the University of El Rosario Laboratory Building (Bogotá, Colombia), among other unique projects. The Barcelona-based BAAS studio, headed by Jordi Badia, has designed the future headquarters of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) on the UPC’s North Campus in Barcelona, and is currently working on the new VHIR headquarters. They have also created the Faculty of Radio and Television in Katowice (Poland) and the 22@ Can Framis Museum, among other buildings. Finally, Casa Solo Studio specialises in building hospitals, and has carried out some twenty new construction projects and major renovations including the Hospital de l’Esperit Sant (Santa Coloma de Gramanet), the Hospital Universitario Los Arcos del Mar Menor (San Javier, Murcia), and the restoration of the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (Badalona) and the Hospital Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC).

BIG + IDOM – In this team, the BIG Studio, founded by the Danish architect Bjarke Ingels in 2006, and the IDOM engineering firm, originally from Bilbao but today with offices in 36 countries, join forces. IDOM participates in large international infrastructure projects in sectors as diverse as transport, telecommunications, energy, and industry. They also advise large companies on environmental issues. Among many preeminent projects, BIG has created CopenHill (Copenhagen, Denmark), a combined waste-to-energy plant, sports facility, and dissemination centre for environmental issues. The building’s design includes a ski slope, hiking trails, and a climbing wall. Architect Gonzalo Carro, IDOM representative in this team, designed the Biocruces Institute in Barakaldo (Bilbao) and the headquarters building of the University of the Basque Country Science Park, among other buildings.

WOODS BAGOT – The Australia-based Woods Bagot Studio currently has 16 offices spread out over all continents. The three team leaders assigned to this project are architects Georgia Singleton, Debby Ray, and Leslie Ashor. They have taken on projects such as the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (Adelaide), the Solar Institute Research Facility (SIRF) of the University of New South Wales (Sydney), the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN), and the Monash Health Translational Research Facility (Clayton), among others.

These five teams will work on the conceptual design of the new BIST building in the Antic Mercat del Peix and will have three months to prepare their proposals. The selection committee will then choose the winning project, taking into consideration the architectural and technical quality of the building proposals. Specifically, they will look at the building’s suitability for research use, its sustainability solutions, the treatment of open space between buildings, and how well it fits in with the surrounding area, among other criteria.

The new BIST building will have a constructed area of ​​about 25,000 square meters spread over several stories and dedicated to multidisciplinary research. The project has a global budget of 50 million euros.

The new BIST building in the Antic Mercat del Peix complex is the first piece of the ambitious Ciutadella del Coneixement initiative, promoted by the Barcelona City Council and UPF to turn the Parc de la Ciutadella area in the centre of Barcelona into a Southern Europe urban knowledge reference hub for biomedicine, biodiversity, and planetary well-being.

 

Download Press release (English) Download Press release (Catalan) Download Press Release (Spanish)

 


The report of the Jury regarding the evaluation and selection of architecture teams during the first phase of the international competition organised by the Barcelona Institute for Sciences and Technology (BIST) is considered part of the Jury’s internal deliberation process. As such, and according to the conditions that regulate the competition, the report will not be made public.

The BIST fully trusts the decision criteria used by the Jury, made up of independent professionals, to select the teams invited to participate in the second phase of the competition. This selection has been accepted by the BIST and announced today, October 20, 2020.