The instructional and research spaces are organized around the perimeter of the building – providing classrooms with picturesque views while keeping the quieter instructional spaces farther away from the more social atrium. Overall, the interior’s materiality is defined by the contrast of the warm wood-clad beams, concrete floors, and the functional double-duty surfaces found within the integrated sciences labs.

The city of Uppsala invited BIG to design a biomass cogeneration plant to supplement Uppsala&#;s existing energy infrastructure during the peak loads in the dark and cold fall, winter, and spring. With its beautiful old town, home to the oldest university in Scandinavia and the impressive Uppsala cathedral, it required careful consideration to integrate a vast structure into the historical skyline.

The platforms feature six integrated systems: zero waste and circular systems, closed loop water systems, food, net zero energy, innovative mobility, and coastal habitat regeneration. These interconnected systems will generate % of the required operational energy on site through floating and rooftop photovoltaic panels. Similarly, each neighborhood will treat and replenish its own water, reduce and recycle resources, and provide innovative urban agriculture.

In , BIG participated in an open design competition for a new Water Culture House in Odense, Denmark&#;s third largest city. The traditional method of designing swimming pools often starts with the creation of a container box from which a hole is excavated to form the water basin. For the creation of a ‘aqua center&#; it seemed more appropriate to look holistically at the pool program.

Students, professors, staff, and visitors will be able to access the new center from two main entrances &#; at the ground floor and the first floor &#; located at different elevations due to the north-south slope of the campus. Students entering through the south side will be met by a cafe and the open auditorium’s grand staircase that leads up towards the atrium. The full-height atrium with open spaces invite collaborative activity &#; embodying both the architectural and educational approach of the center.