Stacked culinary hub by BIG and Bat Architecture "liberates the ground"

Sloping walkable roof terraces stretch over GOE, a food research centre that Danish architecture studio BIG and Spanish studio Bat Architecture designed as a continuation of the landscape at San Sebastián, Spain.

GOE, which stands for Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, was designed by BIG and Bat Architecture for the Basque Culinary Centre as a hub for food innovation, aiming to bring together start-ups, researchers and chefs under one curving roof.

Located at the base of Mount Ulia on a site with a 10 metre height difference, GOE was partially submerged into the sloping landscape.

Its walkable roof gently rises as it stretches towards the nearby sea, forming a series of outdoor terraces that overlook culinary activities inside the building through tall windows.

"Conceived as an architectural extension of the dramatic landscape and cityscape of San Sebastián, our design liberates the ground and provides parks on the roof, inviting the public life of the city to engage with the art and science of gastronomy," said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels.

A central gastronomy hall was designed as the backbone of the building, forming the entry space on the lower ground floor and rising into a staircase with stepped seating that can be used for events and lectures.

The staircase connects kitchens, laboratories and classrooms at GOE, which were designed as flexible spaces that could be easily rearranged for different needs.

"Its design translates the strength of San Sebastián's landscape into fluid architecture – a building that emerges from the terrain, featuring a public plinth, green terraces, and a monumental staircase connecting inside and out," said Bat Architecture.

"The glass facade blurs boundaries between interior and exterior, while the stepped green roof evokes the flysch formations characteristic of the Basque coastline."

GOE's kitchen and education spaces were finished with industrial materials for hygiene and maintenance reasons.

Publicly accessible spaces, including a restaurant on the top floor, feature natural surfaces such as wood and stone to create a welcoming environment.

Outdoor public space and planted landscaping were designed to connect GOE with the adjacent Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

A stepped area leads from the main street to a pathway around the back of the building, which gives access to the building's rooftop.

"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 Ingels.

Elsewhere in San Sebastián, Spanish architecture studio Vaumm created a five-storey golden building as the headquarters for the Basque Culinary Centre.

Other projects by BIG include a mass-timber student centre in Maryland, USA, and an expansive landscraper in London that was designed with Thomas Heatherwick for Google.

The photos are courtesy of Bat Architecture.

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