European Spallation Source

A collaborative pan-European project in which 17 countries participate, the European Spallation Source will house the world’s largest and most advanced center for neutron-based research. Centered around a 600-meter-long proton accelerator, the facility is envisioned as a place where cutting-edge science, knowledge sharing, and community can intersect.

Project details

Client

European Spallation Source (ESS)

Typology

Office and HQs, Infrastructure, Life science and healthcare

Status

Completed

Developed and operated by a multinational European scientific coalition, the 120,000 m² European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund will include two core research facilities, industrial and laboratory buildings, office spaces, a visitor’s center, and guest accommodation facilities hosting up to 3,000 researchers annually. Balancing aesthetic considerations and the exacting technical demands of cutting-edge atomic science, the design aims to reinforce and maximize the research potential of the researchers on site. 

The facilities are oriented around a 600-meter-long proton accelerator that sits at the center of the development and acts as a physical and visual focal point for the activities on site. Here, a powerful ion source will beam protons along the laboratory’s main corridor at 96% of the speed of light, smashing loose neutrons as they collide with a solid tungsten target disc. Studying these isolated neutrons, ESS researchers will explore molecular structures that determine the material properties of our world!

Rasmus Hjortshøj, 2022

Rasmus Hjortshøj, 2022

“Prioritizing the experience of the international scientists who will work on the campus was a significant priority for the design team, ensuring their environment is life-centric and supportive of their work. We are proud to lead a design team that has created the environment in which some of the world's most advanced minds will come together to solve the global crises we face.”

Jakob Strømann-Andersen

Director, Innovation and Sustainability, Partner

Cultivating a culture of knowledge sharing

A collaborative project in which 17 countries participate, ESS brings together various universities, research institutions, and an international community.

"People, nature, and science are the interconnected and interdependent elements of ESS that are crucial to the success of the campus. The technology at the heart of the European Spallation Source will enable researchers to answer advanced scientific questions within physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and medicine – with the aim of enabling exciting breakthroughs in areas such as energy storage and environmental remediation”, says Jakob Strømann-Andersen, Director of Innovation and Sustainability, Henning Larsen.

The ESS building is thought to become a social destination, inviting the larger community to take an interest in cutting-edge science. At its center will be the Science Village, an open campus where science and the wider world meet. By integrating an open campus into the plan, we hope that ESS will become a social destination, inviting the larger community to take an interest in the scientific research taking place on site.