An iconic building to quicken the research on cancer in Lausanne

Located on the CHUV site, the future AGORA – Cancer Centre will be the key component of the new Swiss Cancer Centre Lausanne, whose governance will be jointly provided by the CHUV, UNIL, EPFL and the ISREC Foundation. A letter of intent has also been signed by the 4 institutions, laying down the common vision for research into cancer. The AGORA – Cancer Centre will be able to accommodate 400 researchers and clinicians on 11,500 m2 as early as 2016.

The AGORA - Cancer Centre exists specifically to bring together scientists and practitioners under one roof as part of a community of expertise.
Created as a gigantic “toolbox” in the fight against cancer, the interactive, integrated AGORA centre allows everyone to draw on the pool of resources available in an effort to combat the disease: ground-breaking progress in understanding the mechanisms specific to each pathology, optimized management of targeted therapies, networking of advances benefiting patients under treatment. ‘Bringing together doctors, researchers and bio-engineers under one roof will stimulate collaborative efforts that will lead to major breakthroughs in therapeutic strategies aimed at cancer sufferers’, stated enthusiastically Professor Georges Coukos, Head of the oncology department at CHUV and Director of the Ludwig Centre at Lausanne University.

Behnisch Architekten: an iconic building dedicated to tomorrow’s research
Both interdisciplinary and disciplinary communication as the central element of successful research will be evident in the organization of the floor plans. Communication plays a central role both inside and outside the entire building,’ commented prize-winning architect, Stefan Behnisch, at the opening of the competition exhibition on CHUV premises today. The agora, the public level of the Cancer Research Center, connects as well to the existing pathways of the campus and beyond as internally, within the building to the laboratory and office levels with their individual communication areas and informal workplaces.
The internal organization of the programmatic areas offers the users a high level of flexibility to provide the necessary freedom for future changes.
The building skin is designed to enhance daylight use in the depth of the building. In specific areas operable windows allow for natural ventilation. This provides for a better individual climate control. The daylight enhancement systems, optimized sunlight protection, a responsible management of natural resources in the construction and maintenance of the building, as well as the use of both renewable and the existing energy systems on the site, are the preconditions for a successful and sustainable working environment. This, together with the outstanding research goals will create the future oriented image for the new facility.

The SCCL – Swiss Cancer Center Lausanne
Many rich and complementary collaborations have long existed between the researchers at UNIL and EPFL and the clinicians at CHUV. The creation of the SCCL formally marks the ambition of three major Institutions to pool and co-ordinate their different areas of expertise in the field of oncology and improve the synergies between fundamental researchers and clinicians. The goal? To bring to the bedside as soon as possible the new treatments to emerge from this coordinated research.

50% of the project’s financing already guaranteed
The AGORA – Cancer Centre is a project implemented by the ISREC Foundation and a number of partner institutions with a budget of 70 million Swiss Francs. The ISREC Foundation has made it possible to launch the project with an initial installment of 15 million. ‘We are delighted today to see the project in motion and to have been able to unite all actors in cancer research around a common goal’, stated Jean-Marc Tissot, Director of the ISREC Foundation, today, before continuing ‘for the ISREC Foundation, which is celebrating its 50th birthday next year, making it possible to bring together researchers and clinicians has always been one of our priority goals.’ Aside from the 15 million, two donations of 10 million each have also been bequeathed to the ISREC Foundation in support of the project. In all, the ISREC Foundation has already secured 50% of its funding.