Organisational matters, Contests / awards

As part of the ongoing expansion of the institute, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) launched an architectural competition in February 2024 to identify a suitable partner for the planning and implementation of its extension buildings. At the jury meeting on August 26 and 27, 2024, the submitted designs were evaluated and four prizes were awarded to international architectural firms. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

Following a decision by the Budget Committee in the German Bundestag, the HIPS was granted funding from the federal government and Saarland at the end of 2020, which will enable the institute to expand its space and scientific scope. In order to meet the acute need for laboratory space as quickly and effectively as possible, the spatial expansion will take place in several construction phases. The building application for the first construction phase was submitted at the beginning of 2024 and the corresponding construction work should be completed by the end of 2025.

In February 2024, the institute initiated an architectural competition to find a suitable design as well as the architectural and planning office for the realization of the upcoming construction phases. This was supervised by the Berlin office phase eins and was carried out in close coordination with the HIPS, the funders from the federal and Saarland government, the city of Saarbrücken and the Saarland Chamber of Architects. A total of 68 international architectural firms took part in the Europe-wide competition, 15 of which submitted a design. The designs were assessed at a jury meeting on August 26 and 27, 2024 by a jury of experienced architects, representatives of the federal and Saarland government, Saarland University, the HZI and the city of Saarbrücken. The following prizes were awarded based on the planning drawings and models submitted:

First prize:
Architecture: Christensen & Co. Architects, Kopenhagen, DK; Code of Practice Architects GmbH, Berlin, D
Landscape architecture: Gustin Landskab A/S, Aarhus, DK
 
Second prize:
Architecture: Heinle Wischer Partnerschaft freier Architekten mbB, Köln, D
Landscape architecture: brandenfels landscape + environment, Münster, D

Third prize:
Architecture: Sehw Architektur GmbH, Berlin, D; Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter A/S, Kopenhagen, DK
Landscape architecture: STED en del af Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter, Kopenhagen, DK

Fourth prize:
Architecture: gmp international GmbH, Hamburg, D
Landscape architecture: GTL Landschaftsarchitektur Triebswetter, Mauer, Bruns Partner mbB, Hamburg, D

The HIPS intends to commission the first-placed architectural firm Christensen & Co. (Copenhagen) together with Code of Practice (Berlin) to plan and implement their design. The results of the competition will also be presented in a public exhibition. This is scheduled to take place at HIPS in the fall of this year and will be announced in the coming weeks.

Further information on the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland:
The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrücken was founded jointly by the HZI and Saarland University in 2009. Scientists at HIPS develop and employ experimental and computational approaches to provide new active substances against infectious diseases, optimize them for use in humans and investigate how they can best be transported to their site of action in the human body. Between its foundation and moving into its first building in 2015, the institute was housed in premises at Saarland University. Shortly after moving into the new building, it became clear that its laboratory space would not be able to accommodate the development and growth of HIPS in the long term. Following the decision to expand in November 2020 and the subsequent new appointments (together with the university), the need for laboratory space has increased further. In order to meet this demand as quickly and effectively as possible, the first construction phase will be realized in modular design. This part is scheduled for completion as early as 2025. www.helmholtz-hips.de

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research:
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and other locations in Germany study bacterial and viral infections and the body's defense mechanisms. They have in-depth expertise in natural product research and its use as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As a member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the HZI conducts translational research to lay the foundations for the development of novel therapies and vaccines against infectious diseases. www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en

Contact:
Dr Yannic Nonnenmacher
Scientific Strategy Officer, HIPS
+49 681 98806 4500
hips.medien@helmholtz-hips.de