ion42 - 15 years on

In 2008, the architectural offices DGI Bauwerk and schneider+schumacher were able to convince those responsible for the international research project FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt that they were the right partners for planning and implementing the international accelerator centre. As a result, the two offices formed ARGE ion42, which began planning the facility later the same year.

Now, fifteen years on, the team has celebrated its anniversary on the construction site. In addition to the centrepiece of the facility – an underground accelerator ring with a circumference of 1100 metres – approximately 20 further buildings are being built on the construction site in Darmstadt to serve the accelerator and its experimental work, and these include laboratories. The structural shells of the first buildings of the facility are already complete and technical equipment is currently being installed.

In this video, those responsible for the project describe its early stages, its goals, and how it is progressing on site: