ion42 / DGI Bauwerk • schneider+schumacher

Due to their current state and their obvious relevance to everyone, infrastructure projects have increasingly become the focus of public interest in recent years. However, there are also projects that receive little attention, even though their scope and significance are enormous, as they play a central role in maintaining Germany’s standing as a center of science on the international stage.

One such project is the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), which is currently under construction at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt and will be one of the largest research facilities in the world. The underground double-ring facility spans 1.1 kilometers and includes 14 adjacent research buildings. In the future, ions will be accelerated here to nearly the speed of light to investigate fundamental questions about the structure of the universe—that is, “what holds the world together at its core.”

To tackle the task of planning a project of this magnitude, the two firms DGI Bauwerk and schneider+schumacher have joined forces to form the consortium ion42—whose name combines the word “ion” (a charged particle) with the number 42, which, in Douglas Adams’ cult classic *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy*, is the answer to “the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.”

The exhibition illustrates the complexity of the planning and construction process—which has now spanned more than 18 years—through plans, texts, and models. This information is supplemented by photographs by Kirsten Bucher and Norbert Miguletz, who have been documenting the extraordinary scale of the construction site and its progress on a monthly basis for years.

This material, along with additional texts and explanations, forms the content of the book *Form Follows Beam*, published by Park Books to mark this occasion. It not only highlights the challenges of the project but also underscores the central role of architectural design, which often remains hidden in structures with systems so heavily dictated by technical requirements. In this sense, the exhibition and the book serve as an impressive testament to the successful work at the intersections of architecture and infrastructure, and architecture and science.

schneider+schumacher was founded in 1988 by Till Schneider and Michael Schumacher in Frankfurt am Main and today has offices in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna, as well as Tianjin and Shenzhen (China). DGI Bauwerk was founded in 1985 by Bernd Tibes in Berlin and has offices in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg; in 2025, it merged with léonwohlhage Architekten.

Accompanying the exhibition:
ion42. Form Follows Beam – Architecture for a Particle Accelerator
Editors: Florian Heilmeyer, Christian Holl, Johannes Hucht, Steffen Knöll
Photographs: Kirsten Bucher, Norbert Miguletz
Park Books, Zurich 2026

Opening: September 3, 2026, 7 p.m.
Opening Remarks: Ulrich Müller
Introduction: Kai Otto / Bernd Tibes, Dr. Ingo Peter

Discussion: October 8, 2026, 7 p.m.
Opening remarks: Ulrich Müller
Speakers: Sally Below, Kirsten Bucher, Dieter Grömling, Florian Heilmeyer, Andreas Schneider