On a cold April day, the new Pharma Science Building in Copenhagen Science City was inaugurated with a red carpet, a wedding song and celebratory speeches.

The red carpet leading into the new Pharma Science Building billowed under cobblestones laid out to hold it down in the frigid and windy weather, while the Panum Choir serenaded the building with a wedding song to celebrate its “marriage” of researchers and students. The ensuing inauguration speeches touched subjects ranging from H.C. Ørsted and The Ugly Duckling to Albert Einstein.

In the inauguration’s opening speech, University of Copenhagen Rector Ralf Hemmingsen talked about the culture stemming from Ørsted – the old pharma spirit – which lives on in the new building.

“It’s a housewarming gift that brings warmth in the coldest of fiscal policy times: the energetic, persistent, Ørsted-inspired culture: ‘You strive to do as much as you can.’ And you can do quite a lot!”

 Advanced building for world-class research

Gyrithe Saltorp, Director of the Danish Building & Property Agency, which oversaw the construction, compared the building process with the trials and tribulations of the Ugly Duckling:

“It has become a beautiful and advanced building, after going through so much terrible suffering,” she said, referring to flooding, challenges in the assembly of footbridges and construction delays.

Albert Einstein’s E=mc² formula was brought into play by Kirsten Drejer, CEO and founder of the biotech company Symphogen, who used it as the basis for a talk about Engagement, Mission, Cash and Culture – the four essential ingredients for creating world-class research.

“We have use for only the very best,” she said of the biotech industry, encouraging everyone in Copenhagen Science City to engage in dialogue and create a common mission.

About the Pharma Science Building

The Pharma Science Building is the first in a series of new buildings in Copenhagen Science City designed for use by researchers and students.

The 5,130-square-metre Pharma Science Building is primarily home to modern laboratories for pharmaceutical research. The flexible new laboratories will strengthen the opportunities for collaborations and accommodate the varying laboratory needs of modern and dynamic research.

The Pharma Science Building also houses a range of common facilities where researchers can meet and find inspiration for collaborations and innovation.