The new building is promoted by Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science, and will house scientific groups from the Basque Country working in key areas of research identified in the IKUR Strategy of the Basque Government. Specifically, it is expected to accommodate a total of 300 researchers in the areas of quantum computing, neutronics, supercomputing, advanced chemistry, new materials and polymers. The new building will also house the new laboratories of the BERC Polymat research centre of excellence, which investigates advanced polymers.
The construction of this new scientific infrastructure aims to respond to the Basque Government's firm commitment to continue promoting excellent science, and with it, the desire to host new leading research groups in the Basque Country.
The Ikerbasque scientific community already exceeds 300 researchers, with more than 1,300 people working in research groups. The network of 9 BERC research centres of excellence promoted by the Basque Government's Department of Education has grown in the last decade to currently reach 1,200 researchers. This commitment by the Basque Country to attract and consolidate scientific talent requires the provision of adequate spaces and equipment for new research groups.
The building located on Avenida Tolosa will be attached to the current Korta building and will have 6,000 m2 built, distributed over 5 floors above ground and a basement, with nearly 1,100 m2 per floor. It will be completed in 2025 and will house 80 laboratories on a plot of land on the Ibaeta campus provided by the UPV/EHU.
The building meets the most advanced environmental criteria and has innovative construction solutions to respond to the building's energy efficiency requirements and the most demanding functional needs of the research laboratories. It has a façade with an exterior skin, which acts as a solar screen, contributing to the thermal control of the building, composed of a lattice of vertical metal elements.
The building is presented as a simple volume, with a light appearance and immediate reading, a neutral and robust panel that accompanies the existing Korta building. The two buildings are separated and joined at the same time by an intermediate bay that acts as a material joint between them, allowing a harmonized change of façade on one side and the other of it.
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