Sinuous green rooftops is the BIG’s winning entry for the new Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe) in Spain

BIG –Bjarke Ingels Group's proposal for the new Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe) bridges science, gastronomy, and Nature to promote culinary research, innovation, and enjoyment. The winning entry was selected among the five invited architects including OMA, Snøhetta, 3XN and Toyo Ito & Associates.

The design features a sinuous roof, that gently rises from the ground, utilising the terrain difference on the site. The design gesture preserves and enhances the existing park qualities at the site while creating connections to the adjacent Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route and the Cantabrian Sea. The roof rises to give way to public terraces and extends the landscape vertically, inviting guests to explore and experience the space.

Designed as a flexible space, the new GOe features a central space which runs all the way to the roof, connecting all the main spaces through the grand staircase. The staircase also doubles as an amphitheatre for events and lectures, allowing the public to experience the inner working of the centre.

 

The stair also leads visitors to the public terraces, which host orchards, world-class restaurants and a landscape auditorium for public events.

 

“We have had the great pleasure of collaborating with one of the most brilliant minds in modern gastronomy with our design for Rene Redzepi's NOMA in our native Copenhagen. We are more than excited to take our architectural exploration of the world of gastronomy to the next level with the work for The Gastronomic Open Ecosystem in San Sebastian,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG. 

 

Ingels continues, “Conceived as an architectural extension of the dramatic landscape and cityscape of San Sebastian, our proposed design liberates the ground and provides parks on the roof to invite the public life of the city to engage with the art and science of gastronomy. Located on the heralded Camino de Santiago de Compostela, we believe that this architectural fusion of gastronomy and technology, city and landscape, building and park has the potential to become a destination in its own right for culinary pilgrims from around the world.”  

At the street levels, the building is designed to step back, revealing a covered public plaza directly connecting to the pilgrimage route, establishing the centre as a meeting point between culture, gastronomy and the city.

 

 

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Project Details

Name: GOE - GASTRONOMY OPEN ECOSYSTEM
Date: 08/04/2022
Program: Culture
Status: In Progress
Size in m2: 9090
Project type: Competition
Client: Basque Culinary Center
Collaborators: Gleeds (cost consultants), Tricon (kitchen consultants), Play-Time & Fusao (Visuals)
Location Text: San Sebastian, Spain
Location: (43.318334,-1.9812313)