EMBL Imaging Centre top-out event

In the recent month the construction of the EMBL Imaging Centre has made substantial progress and the outline of the new facility at the campus in Heidelberg clearly becomes visible. To celebrate the progress made in the recent months a top-out event was held on 18 December 2019 – a traditional German ceremony when the construction of a building has reached its highest point.

EMBL invited the companies involved in the construction as well as EMBL staff in Heidelberg to a classic German top-out event with Chilli, sausages, soft drinks beer and Glühwein. The event provided EMBL the opportunity to thank the construction workers on site for their efforts in the last months and to wish them all the best for the months ahead.

Construction workers and EMBL staff attending the ceremony.
Credit: Kinga Lubowiecka/EMBL

The Imaging Centre, designed by gerstner+hofmeister Architekten, will be open to visiting researchers from all over the world. This way EMBL’s expertise in imaging technologies and data analysis will pass on to other locations, promoting scientific discovery in EMBL’s member states and beyond. As such, the EMBL Imaging Centre will function as a training facility for the most advanced imaging technologies. An interactive exhibition is also planned for the EMBL Imaging Centre, which will be housed in the openly accessible part of the building, allowing the public to get insights into life sciences and the power of imaging technologies

The foundation stone of the building was laid on 1 April 2019 and it is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2020. The opening of the centre is planned for summer 2021.