Report: Temporary Spatial Modules: Research Building in Dübendorf
The latest building by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) bears the title “Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies” (NEST). Set in a heterogeneous built environment in Dübendorf, north-west of Zurich, it is no ordinary structure: it consists of an irregularly shaped stack of open concrete slabs. Designed by the architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler, the NEST complex is a research building where experiments can be carried out in the field of constructional technology. Inaugurated at the end of May 2016, the development comprises two parts: a permanent “backbone” and various interchangeable “units”. The latter serve the needs of research, and at the end of a project, they can be removed and replaced by different ones.
