A new home for LHC physicists

Work is about to start on a new extension to Building 40 to make extra space for 300 LHC scientists at CERN.

Work on a new development to provide office space for 300 scientists at CERN will start on 5 January. Building 42, a new extension to Building 40, will provide extra space for researchers and external collaborators working on the LHC experiments.

The 3160 square meters of floor space will be divided into 300 new work places and 6 meeting rooms. Located on the south side of Building 40, the extension will boast some impressive views over the vineyard to the south of CERN.

The design is centred around a large courtyard garden. Once completed, there will be internal connections to Building 40 as well as a large outdoor decking area overlooking the central garden. The design was done by the same architect as for Building 40, Jacques Perret, and is planned with the environment in mind. The grass roof will provide both insulation and help with drainage, and the building will be heated through the energy-efficient CERN heating system.

The first requests for a new development were made in 2006. One of the original plans was to adapt Building 40 to provide extra office space, but this was scrapped in favour of an extension. The plans for the current design were finalised half way through 2008.

The total cost of the entire development is 11.3 MCHF. Like Building 40, it is funded by the Building Foundation for International Organisations (FIPOI), which lends money interest free to help international organisations to build in Switzerland. The loan will be paid back over the next 50 years.

The project, which is managed by the TS Civil Engineering Group, will be finished in autumn 2010. During the construction period, access to the building site will be from chemin de Franchevaux in order to avoid construction traffic inside CERN. Throughout the entire 22 months of construction Building 40 will remain open and fully operational.