The new building housing the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) was officially inaugurated on Monday in an event which included the attendance of President Salvador Illa.
The President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; Minister of Health, Olga Pané; Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat; and Rector of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Javier Lafuente, among other authorities, inaugurated the new building of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) on Monday 2 December.
The new headquarters was built to promote the institute's research with an exceptional space for research, innovation and teaching that will represent a transformative element in the Vall d'Hebron Campus.
The inauguration included a guided tour of the culture rooms and laboratories of the Clinical Neuroimmunology, Diabetes and Metabolism and Pneumology groups, with presentations of their most innovative projects.
Connecting research and society to improve the lives of people
Designed by BAAS Arquitectura and Espinet / Ubach, the building seeks to blend into the environment through a Mediterranean and sustainable architecture. It is a single façade proposal, located between the UAB building on the Vall d'Hebron Campus and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital, on the grounds of the former hospital laundry building. The roof will be occupied by a garden, an extension of the park surrounding the building, which will function as a resting place and a green roof to reduce energy consumption. Work began in July 2021 and was completed in September 2024.
Part of the scientific-technical services portfolio of the VHIR, formed by the Experimental Surgery Unit (ESU), Clinical Research Support Unit (USIC), High Technology Unit (UAT), Biobank (BBC), Statistics and Bioinformatics Unit (UEB), and the Academic Research Organisation (ARO) will be moved to the new research building.
In addition, the new headquarters will house the latest technology in the field of advanced therapies, in particular gene therapy, and a new cyclotron is also planned that will allow the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools based on radioisotopes, an area of maximum expansion at international level and in which the Vall d'Hebron Campus is already a leading reference.
The new facilities will allow researchers to continue doing cutting-edge and disruptive research, to continue innovating and guaranteeing the improvement of people's quality of life. The fact of moving from several locations to a large space will allow sharing knowledge and experiences, promoting synergies between different groups and increasing transversality.