The Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies (CEZAMAT) at the Warsaw University of Technology is a place where science meets business to create new branches of industry. It combines a number of disciplines: nanotechnology research, chemistry, biology, IT and physics. To make it possible, every detail was important during the designing phase.
The complex comprises two buildings, laboratory and office and administration, are linked with a roofed passage. The overall composition is based on two juxtaposed cubes. The first one is the ground level clad with grey architectural concrete. This part houses technical functions and laboratories that do not require stringent cleanliness.
The second one is the coarse, light and monolithic block without windows. It is a geometrical abstraction of the heart of the complex. It includes clean rooms, or super clean laboratories. Since all contaminants are eliminated, it is possible to examine the matter at the atomic level. Not only does the transparent metal mesh make the building look homogenous, but also hides several filter outlets.
The two cubes, the light one without windows and the dark one glazed, are combined with an ideal contrast. The whiteness and blackness is the highlight of the cleanliness of their architectural expression.
The facility does not manifest the cosmic architecture of the future, expiry date of which seem to be rather short. On the contrary, carefully adjusted proportions of the building and respect for the space stand a chance to win with the passage of time.
