Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology

The urban cubage for the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, located on Humboldt University’s future »Campus of Life Sciences« in the Berlin-Mitte district, emerges from the summation of two volumes. With their different heights and angular arrangement, these two volumes form a distinct structure that formulates a forecourt with a new approach to campus. The building’s floor plan seeks to stimulate the interdisciplinary workflow and the communication among the research teams. A negative space, which connects all stories and houses a circular staircase, represents the distinct center of the building, aids in orientation and provides users with a gathering point for communication. The conference rooms, common rooms and kitchenettes are located here. As the scientists conduct research across program and discipline, as well as follow mathematical approaches, the institute combines workstations for classical molecular biology work with workstations for computationally intensive, bioinformatic and theoretical work. The allocation of each type of workstation can vary and be adapted for each team.