Type: Laboratory and Factory
Location: Puembo, Ecuador
Area: 1,000 sqm
Date: 2019
Status: Built
Client: Private
Cepario Biocembra is a space within the the headquarters for Biosiembra, a laboratory dedicated to the production of beneficial microorganisms for plants and soil, the 1,000 sqm space designed by Estudio Felipe Escudero revolves around the laboratory itself, a circular space organized symmetrically and divided into distinct areas for the meticulous growth of bacteria.
The brief was to design a functional laboratory that works at the molecular level of detail, with organisms stored and shown in a museum-like space. Set inside an existing warehouse so the existing structure, the circular Cepario Biocembra designed by Escudero was built to appear as if it is floating over the existing space.
The steel structure overhangs from the existing warehouse beams, and the aluminium panels on the slabs are angled to further make it look
lightweight. The facade is made of curved glass panels that form a circle. Spaces are tight sealed to control the pressure of air and avoid exterior bacteria to come into the space.
The space is symmetrically divided with sections that mimic the process of creation happening within the building, with a flow though storage, laboratory, and lounge areas. These spaces are organized around a central nucleus - a suspended, glass observation area - that mirrors the function of bioseeding. The lounge area is where ideas are incubated, with soft seating oriented towards the view of the valley. The laboratory and storage spaces echo one another, with an area built to analyze and process specimens mirrored by a storage facility. The architecture allows the circulation between spaces to flow continuously.