The new building, as a solitary component, occupies a unique position on the campus grounds, taking up lines from the urban layout and readjusting the ensemble by rounding off the plaza in front of CFEL. The design of the rectangular, terraced building is based on a modular grid of 120 cm, visible on the outside in smooth metal panels and floor-to-ceiling glass elements. Between the compact laboratory modules on the ground floor and the laboratory clusters on the upper floor are meeting rooms, open communication areas and tea kitchens, grouped around the open central atrium.
The spaces are mostly planned to hold densely equipped laser laboratories fulfilling exceptional requirements of cold temperatures, absolute darkness as well as vibration and temperature consistency.
