Today was a festive moment at the NCT Heidelberg: Petra Olschowski, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Science, together with Ursula Weyrich and Michael Baumann, board members of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), handed over the symbolic key for the extension building to Katrin Erk and Ingo Autenrieth, board members of Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD), as well as to Stefan Fröhling and Dirk Jäger, spokespersons of the NCT Heidelberg Board of Directors.
The extension increases the floor space by almost 50 percent from 5,565 to 8,131 square meters. The newly created space is divided between two extensions: The laboratory extension, which houses a research area close to the clinic on the first floor with ten places for conducting Phase I studies and two laboratory areas on the two upper floors, and a new three-storey building with office and seminar rooms. Preventive Oncology, the CATCH/COGNITION breast cancer programs, consulting services, cancer genome research, translational radiation oncology, digital oncology, the Clinical Trial Center and the Patient Research Council will all move into the new building.
The extension brings a special architectural feature to the Neuenheimer Feld. The new office wing is the first building on the campus to be constructed in solid wood using Nordic spruce, beech and German oak. Only the foundations and basement are made of concrete for any future use of large equipment. The office building undercuts the legal requirements for energy efficiency by 30 percent.
The new office building also sets standards in terms of "art in construction": the stairwells were designed in a full-surface, colorful painting by Laura Aberham. The young artist wants to radiate the hope and optimism with which researchers seek progress in the treatment of cancer patients with the bold colors.
The extension started in 2019. The total costs of 20 million for the extension were borne by the state of Baden-Württemberg, with the DKFZ as the client. The furniture and medical and scientific equipment are provided by the sponsors of the NCT Heidelberg, the DKFZ and the UKHD. The future operator of the building is the UKHD.
The NCT Heidelberg is a pioneering facility for transferring new research findings from the laboratory to the clinic. The expansion of the building improves the environment for patients and the work opportunities for employees. The expansion will ensure the ideal infrastructure for cutting-edge patient-oriented research in the future.