DTU's Building 313, also known as the Climate Challenge Laboratory at DTU Lyngby Campus, is complete and ready for occupancy. Here, physicists, chemists, energy engineers, and biologists will work with researchers from other disciplines, students, and companies to develop solutions to some of the world's significant climate challenges.
Art is part of the living laboratory
As lab equipment and microscopes find their proper place and offices fill up, artist Tue Greenfort and his team have installed the site-specific works: 'THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE', 'HELIOS', 'PHOTOSYNTHESIS' and 'CLIMATE ZONE'. The works are an integral part of the common areas of the building and intend to inspire curiosity and innovation among the people who use the building daily:
"I've always been interested in the story of the cosmos,' says Tue Greenfort. "There is a marvellous depth to what we can know about the world and our self-understanding. As soon as you know something, a whole new set of questions arise, and that's one of the things I find so interesting about science. It's that inspiration and the wonder of everything we don't know that I want these works at DTU to speak into".
For many years, Tue Greenfort has worked with the intersections between art and science, culture and nature. The four new works created specifically for DTU's Building 313 are inspired by and convey aspects of the research that the building and laboratory facilities support.
"The stories and images I try to create point towards a more holistic and dynamic understanding of nature. Solutions to climate change are not to rebuild or restore - we need to go somewhere fundamentally different. And that's what the researchers in this building are working on. They are thinking outside the box and collaborating across disciplines to recognize that the world - and the solutions - are also dynamic and constantly changing," says Tue Greenfort.
Sustainable building from the inside out
Building 313 is created with sustainability in mind from the design and construction process to future use. Like all new construction at DTU, the building is seeking certification according to the international standard for sustainable construction, DGNB Gold, and aims to be awarded DGNB Heart, which is awarded to buildings with a particular focus on indoor climate and working environment.
The building and artwork will be officially inaugurated on 20 November 2024, and Tue Greenfort's works will be on display as part of DTU's Kunstrute
