Atlas Building, Wageningen, Netherlands

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Atlas Building
Designer Rafael Vinoly Architects PC, New York, New York, USA
Location Wageningen, Netherlands
Date 2005 to 2006
Building Type School and Academic
Construction System precast concrete, aluminum, glass.
Climate Cold Temperate
Context Campus Context
Architectural Style High Tech
Builder Visser & Smit Bouw
Street Address Building 104; Droevendaalsesteeg 4
Notes In collaboration with Van den Oever, Zaaijer & Partners Architecten, Amsterdam, Netherlands; external precast concrete latticework structural system; a 65-meter (-foot) ramp provides access to the second-floor building entrance; 4 additional ramps bridge the interior courtyard.

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Building Details
Client Wageningen University and Research Centre
Area 11,000 square meters
Stories 7 above ground (6 plus "basement")
Height 28 meters
Length 44 meters
Width 44 meters
Program laboratory space, kiosk, cold storage rooms, climatically controlled cool rooms.


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Wageningen University and Research Centre chose an agriculturally depleted field as the site for the Centrum de Born, its new, consolidated campus northeast of the town of Wageningen, created in part to express the university’s developing commitment to environmental research. Rafael Viñoly Architects PC responded to this contextual challenge by creating an arresting structure that answered client specifications in innovative ways: the Atlas Building.

An anchor for the new campus’s entrance, the structure’s form was developed through a series of dialogues with the university. Key programmatic needs were revealed, reflecting the maxim that that lab configurations, experiments, and research initiatives evolve; to address this transitory quality, laboratories should easily convert into offices. It was clear that circulation and common areas should be highlighted in the design as well, yet university management eschewed wasted space. Additionally, considering urban planning, the university required a small building footprint and flexible partitioning, rejecting pavilion and outbuilding installations. To reflect a commitment to sustainability, a set of criteria was developed that called for user-controlled environments for lighting and temperature and utilized northern light to reduce HVAC expenditures. Building specifications demanded that the lowest level hold a fully contained and controlled soil research laboratory, vibration-sensitive equipment, and climate-controlled labs, limiting floor arrangements and uses. Through the final design, all of these constraints were successfully resolved.

The Atlas Building is a flexible structure, perfectly suited for its current purpose and also prepared for change. Striking architectural elements solve critical building requirements. The structure’s precast concrete latticework doubles as a structural exoskeleton and renders the building almost entirely column-free. Application of a cube-shaped structure with central atrium maximizes floor use and creates a spacious perambulatory atmosphere without the loss of interior square footage. The dramatic ninety-eight-yard-long entrance ramp effortlessly leads pedestrian traffic from campus pathways to the building’s main level. A vast sky-lit atrium engenders an interactive environment, invigorated through a series of pedestrian bridges that join the various floor levels and functions, encouraging interdepartmental communication and collaboration.

“The building is a part of an overall composition that creates a holistic vision for this part of the campus," notes Rafael Viñoly, “It resembles a trellis pavilion, hosting the science that studies nature and the sustainability of nature. This is one of the most important subjects we face today, representing a collective responsibility that this university leads with remarkable excellence.”

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