Center for Virtual Engineering in Stuttgart by UN Studio

In mid-November, the foundation stone for the Virtual Engineering Center (Zentrum für Virtuelles Engineering – ZVE) by the Dutch UN Studio was laid in Stuttgart. The new four-story center, covering an area of 3,100 m², will be part of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organization and is intended to become a base for research, development, and testing of technologies related to virtual reality and innovations in work and office concepts.
Ben van Berkel adds to the design: “A research building like the ZVE consists of an open and technologically advanced structure. The central challenge of the project was to create a balance between internal zones such as offices or laboratories and publicly accessible areas for visitors. The staircase, as a flowing vertical connector, runs through the entire building and connects different height levels.”
The building will feature several 174-meter-deep wells that will cool the building in the summer and heat it in the winter. The building's energy dependence on its surroundings will also be reduced by photovoltaic cells. Cold air will be channeled into the ceilings and walls to cool the building. The research center is scheduled to be completed in 2011.