Laying of the Foundation Stone for Merck Life Science Advanced Research Center
On April 25, 2024, the foundation stone for the Merck Life Science Advanced Research Center (LS ARC) was laid in the presence of German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. We have designed the new build for Merck’s research and development campus in Darmstadt, Germany. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The new build enables Merck to concentrate life science research and development in a center of research excellence to foster innovation in downstream R&D, cell cultures, process and formulation materials, analytical chemistry, digital chemistry, and mRNA. Facing the city center, the building will be a cornerstone of the new research and development campus.
Martin Henn, design principal at HENN, explains: “Overcoming the constraints of conventional functional and spatial layouts, our design creates a coherent work environment including laboratories, communication areas, and offices – a shared world of knowledge for the laboratory of the future.”
The compact cube opens to the campus and to the city through two deeply incised atria, which are enclosed by a staggered, cantilevered arrangement of the upper floors. Daylight filters through the glass ceilings of the atria into the center of the building. Various plant species are incorporated into the building to transform the atria into recreational spaces.
The open-plan layout of the upper stories combines laboratories and offices to create a coherent workspace. Laboratory areas are located opposite each other on two outer sides of the building. The world of knowledge unfolds in-between, including office space and shared communication areas for professional and informal exchange between employees. The building utilizes the synergies and potentials of work processes by connecting the spaces, which provide ample flexibility for subdivision, across floors in the horizontal and vertical direction.
The Merck Life Science Advanced Research Center marks a major step towards a central research and development campus at the Merck Group headquarters. It strengthens the significance of Darmstadt as a location for life science technologies.
