CuBo Building

“CuBo” – short for Cultural Box – is the first building to be completed with the expansion of the Campus Bio-Medico in Rome. Pioneering the campus’ further development and construction, CuBo exhibits the traits and building criteria set in the 2019 “Horti Academici” master plan, drafted by Labics and Topotek 1 and selected amongst multiple international entries. The building has a square footprint of 66 meters and ten equal modules per side, and all four elevations with portico façades that increase permeability between indoor and outdoor spaces and foster interrelation with neighboring facilities and the landscape.

As a hybrid of two distinct formal approaches – a courtyard set within two displaced linear volumes – CuBo achieves a simple yet rigorous floorplan and programmatic arrangement. Lecture halls and large multipurpose spaces are consolidated to the lateral volumes on the north and south sides of the building, freeing up the middle for free-flowing public use and circulation including common areas for collective use. A displaced double-height courtyard establishes a grand forecourt from the east that cascades directly into a sunken public auditorium. Floating above the open ground floor, enclosed loggias encircle the courtyard and frame a quiet study hall.

Client: Campus BioMedico spa

Architecture: Labics and Topotek 1
Landscape Architecture: Topotek 1
Invited Competition: 2018 | 1st Prize
Planning: 2020-2023
Size: 10.500 m2
Completion: 2024