MILAN — The Science Gateway building in Geneva designed for the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) by architect Renzo Piano will be inaugurated on Saturday and is being supported by the Carla Fendi Foundation, among others.
Strongly promoted by CERN director-general Fabiola Giannotti, it will be dedicated to science education.
Maria Teresa Venturini Fendi, who was named president of the foundation in 2017, said it has supported the making of the Back to the Big Bang space within the new facility. The space covers 2,160 square feet and allows visitors to walk through the different epochs of the universe. They are offered telescopes and the possibility to conduct experiments. The venue features a wall-sized print of the universe in its various evolutionary stages, with projection effects and animations.
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Founded in 2007 by her aunt Carla Fendi to promote creativity and preserve art and culture, it was Venturini Fendi’s decision to add science to the foundation’s cultural scope, moved by her own personal curiosity.
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Venturini Fendi believes an analytical base coexists with intuition in science, which she described as “fascinating,” citing Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton making their groundbreaking discoveries during moments of inspiration. “Science is entering into our lives, and mediating everything,” she said, pointing to the ever-increasing power of artificial intelligence, for example, “also in art, and music.”
“I was immediately captivated by the idea of involving the Carla Fendi Foundation into a project that explores the mystery of the universe and its birth — I don’t know anyone who is not interested in this,” contended Venturini Fendi. “We are all fascinated by these mysteries whatever their philosophical or religious implications might be and we are constantly seeking answers to questions that have to do with the very essence of creation and life.”
The new center for education allows science, “whose progress is so accelerated and advanced that sometimes it seems to be disconnected from people’s real life,” to be more accessible “beyond geographical, political or economic barriers. I wanted in fact to support this project because CERN represents a successful example of cooperation between countries, scientists, researchers and students of all nationalities and cultures that share a common goal.”
Inspired by CERN’s technical buildings and underground tunnels, such as the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, the architectural elements of the facility are featured as tubes that seem to be suspended in space, she observed.
Five different spaces that host exhibitions, hands-on laboratories, a large auditorium, a shop and a restaurant are all connected by a bridge conceived as a street raised almost 20 feet above ground and crossing the Route de Meyrin. A forest with 400 trees will create a special pedestrian experience.
“The Renzo Piano building is fascinating because it’s not raised vertically but expands horizontally with these huge tubes and is sort of a metaphor of CERN, expanding from Geneve in Switzerland to France,” Venturini Fendi said. ”I have been to CERN four times, the energy you sense there is very strong.”
This energy reflects Carla Fendi’s own, she continued, as she was “always looking ahead, very curious and I believe she would have appreciated this focus on science.”
The Science Gateway will offer physics experiments for children from primary school to high school; interactive and immersive tours; exploration of the main technologies developed at CERN, as well as their impact on society. Recent studies show that the number of jobs in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics, fields is increasing three times faster than in other sectors.
“To cope with the great challenges of our time as a driver of innovation for present and future generations, CERN Science Gateway promotes the understanding of the scientific process, the value of evidence-based assessment, the critical thinking and the Carla Fendi Foundation is determined to support this effort,” Venturini Fendi said.
The Carla Fendi Award, which includes a financial contribution to support research programs, is given annually by the foundation during the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi to prominent exponents of STEM fields, scientists and technologists. In 2018, the winners included physicists Franḉois Englert, Peter Higgs and CERN’s Gianotti. The award is bestowed at the Caio Melisso teather in Spoleto, which dates back to the 17th century and was restored by the Carla Fendi Foundation in 2011.
Looking ahead, Venturini Fendi, whose mother is Anna Fendi and whose sisters are Silvia, artistic director of accessories and menswear at Fendi, and Ilaria, founder of Carmina Campus, said she is thinking of opening a museum based on the archives of the foundation.
Carla Fendi died in Rome in 2017, and held the title of honorary president of the company. She joined the company in the ’50s and with her sisters Anna, Paola, Franca and Alda, and helped develop and expand the then-family-owned venture, mainly in charge of marketing and communication and championed its expansion in the U.S.