The Science Gateway, the hub for scientific education, was inaugurated at Cern
A kind of “shuttle”, a 210 meter long bridge suspended 6 meters above the ground to connect the buildings on both sides of the road. Science Gateway, the cutting-edge center for scientific education and culture, of Cern inaugurated this morning in Geneva, looks like a spaceship of the future that ‘lands’ in the middle of a “young forest” with 400 trees, planted throughout the ‘area. This is how the architect Renzo Piano designed it, present at the ceremony, together with Fabiola Gianotti, Director General of Cern, and John Elkann, president of Stellantis, the main contributor.
“This building is like a bridge, building bridges is a good job, building walls is not good” said the star architect, explaining that the structure is completely “carbon neutral” from the point of view of carbon dioxide emissions, with nearly 4,000 square meters of solar panels providing even more electricity than needed for the building.
From tomorrow it will welcome visitors from all over the world, starting from five years of age, with its exhibitions, the modular educational laboratory and the auditorium, which bears the name of Sergio Marchionne. The center is inspired by the tubular structure of the accelerators of the European Laboratory of Particle Physics, and was created with the aim of “involving more and more visitors, especially the younger generations, with the beauty of science. We want to stimulate curiosity, creativity and critical thinking”, explained Fabiola Gianotti. We will be able to welcome “up to 500 thousand people” per year, while until now a maximum of 150 thousand people could enter.
For Gianotti the new center is “a dream that has become reality”, it will help to involve as many people as possible, to raise awareness of the “science that is fundamental for a sustainable future”. For Renzo Piano it represents “a bridge between the public and science. It is a bridge in both a physical and metaphorical sense. This building is powered by solar energy, landed in the middle of what will become a new living forest.” “It’s not a museum, it’s not a school, it’s not a research centre, but it’s a bit of all these things” said the architect in charge of the project. The Science Gateway will allow CERN to significantly expand its offering of educational and cultural activities and will be open to the public starting tomorrow, 8 October 2023.
The Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini was also present at the inauguration, together with ministers from other European countries. And to the President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset. While the complete project was launched in 2018, the construction of the Science Gateway campus lasted just over two years and the foundation stone of the building took place on June 21, 2021. This new structure would not have been possible without the support of the sponsors: the overall cost of the Science Gateway is amounted to approximately 100 million Swiss francs, financed exclusively through donations. In particular, the Stellantis Foundation is the largest single donor to the project, to which it contributed 45 million Swiss francs.
“Cern – intervened John Elkann, President of Stellantis, present with his children – is an example of how we can work together in harmony, using scientific knowledge and ingenuity for the good of all. The Stellantis Foundation is proud to collaborate with an institution of this level in opening the new Science Gateway to the public, which also celebrates a great innovator like Sergio Marchionne. My family and I strongly believe in the value of education, which is also the mission of the Agnelli Foundation: a commitment that today we strengthen with conviction and passion.”
Among the main donors there is also the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Other donors include the LEGO Foundation, the Loterie Romande, the Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Rolex, the Carla Fendi Foundation, the Fondation Gelbert, Solvay, the Fondation Meyrinoise du Casino and the city of Meyrin. The ceremony took place in the new 900-seat auditorium named after Sergio Marchionne, former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, who passed away 5 years ago. “Inaugurating the Science Gateway and the auditorium in his name today – concluded Elkann – seemed like a nice way to remember him” with his “curiosity” and his “love for physics”.
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