BIG TO ADVANCE GASTRONOMIC SCIENCE & INNOVATION WITH NEW FOOD & TECH HUB IN SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN

BIG’s design proposal for the new 9,000 m2 Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe) for the Basque Culinary Center at the heart of San Sebastian bridges science, gastronomy, and nature to promote culinary research, innovation, and enjoyment. The Basque Culinary Center, a pioneering gastronomic institution, launched the international design competition for the new food innovation hub GOe in 2021 with the mission to bring food start-ups, researchers, and chefs under one roof. GOe will continue the development of alternative proteins, agricultural robotics, prevention of food waste, and much more from their new BIG-designed building, a proposal selected among five invited architects including OMA, Snøhetta, 3XN and Toyo Ito & Associates. “We have had the great pleasure of collaborating with one of the most brilliant minds in modern gastronomy with our design for Rene Redzepis 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. 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.”  said Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.