Construction of the third and final phase of the Skypark Business Center in Findel, Luxembourg, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, is approaching completion, bringing one of Europe's largest mass-timber buildings closer to its grand unveiling. The impressive 70,000-square-meter complex stands prominently beside Luxembourg Airport as a sculptural, seven-story landmark constructed from more than 15,000 cubic meters of wood – an amount the design team compares to six Olympic-size swimming pools.
What sets this project apart is its distinctive architectural form. Rather than creating a single zigzag structure, the building features two stacked and rotated timber bars that slide over one another, generating a series of terraces, courtyards, and panoramic workspaces. These spaces offer stunning views toward both the airport runway and the nearby Grand Ducal Golf Course, creating a unique work environment that connects employees with their surroundings.
On an urban planning level, the Skypark Business Center serves as a crucial anchor point within the Airport City Masterplan in the Niederanven municipality. The BIG design team worked within significant constraints, including a long, narrow footprint of approximately 19,000 square meters at ground level and the district's maximum permitted height of 30.5 meters. Despite these limitations, they created a building that functions as both a modern workplace and an infrastructural buffer for the surrounding area.
The building's elevation presents an undulating wall effect, with its shifting geometry serving as an acoustic barrier for public spaces and future developments in the vicinity. This careful orchestration of solid mass and open void allows natural daylight, greenery, and pedestrian movement to flow through the project, even though it sits adjacent to one of the country's busiest transportation hubs.
A clear architectural hierarchy defines the building's various volumes. At the base sits a mineral parking structure, topped by a fully glazed ground floor that welcomes pedestrians. Above these foundational elements, two copper-clad office bars curve across the upper levels in the signature snake-like configuration. This stacked zigzag design isn't merely an aesthetic choice but serves important functional purposes, with each rotation creating new outdoor areas, green terraces positioned every 50 meters, sheltered alcoves, and more intimate internal courtyards that greet visitors approaching from the north.
The building's rounded corners at each turn eliminate dead-end spaces and open up sweeping, nearly panoramic views. This design philosophy reinforces the concept of a continuous, meandering workspace rather than a rigid, traditional commercial block. The result is a dynamic environment that encourages movement and interaction while providing varied spatial experiences throughout the building.
Inside the structure, the layout prioritizes flexibility and adaptability. All circulation cores are strategically positioned where the two 'snakes' overlap, ensuring every tenant enjoys straightforward vertical access without compromising the continuity of floor plates. This intelligent design enables office levels to expand or contract according to changing tenant requirements, with partitions that can be easily reconfigured as needs evolve.
Upon arrival, visitors pass through a double-door portal into the Grande Galerie, a generous internal passage that runs along the building's spine. This vibrant space hosts restaurants, retail establishments, and a fitness studio arranged along the glazed perimeter, creating an animated inner street that opens onto southern gardens with direct views of the 4-kilometer runway. The gallery serves as the social heart of the building, fostering interaction between different users and creating a sense of community.
The project seamlessly integrates with existing airport infrastructure and passenger flows. On the eastern side, a lightweight canopy extends from the ground floor to connect with Terminal A's departure level, forming a weather-protected pedestrian link and a landscaped plaza that serves both travelers and workers. Below ground on level B1, car rental and valet services occupy a bridge-like structure that allows arriving passengers to retrieve vehicles within minutes of landing.
To the west, the upper bar extends outward in a dramatic cantilever that functions as both an architectural gateway and a shaded public threshold for those entering Airport City from Luxembourg's center. This bold structural gesture creates a memorable landmark while providing practical shelter for pedestrians and vehicles below.
Three tiers of roof gardens crown the building, giving users access to greenery and fresh air across multiple levels. Combined with the extensive use of mass timber in the upper structures, bridges, and floor slabs, these outdoor layers contribute to the Skypark Business Center's broader environmental goals. The project demonstrates how large-scale workplace infrastructure can embrace lower-carbon construction methods while creating more humane, nature-connected work environments that prioritize employee wellbeing and environmental responsibility.
