Although the new ITER Headquarters building is far from finalized, the construction is now well enough advanced to be able to picture what it is going to look like when completed.

Arriving at the gate and at the new parking area, there is a striking view of the undulating sunshades that cover the building's northern façade. Employees who park their cars, or are dropped off by bus, will have to badge to access the ITER premises at the Site Access Control Building. From there, it is then only a short walk to the main entrance of the Headquarters.

The glass entrance doors open into a bright and spacious lobby with large bay windows looking toward the ITER platform on one side, and towards the distant mountains on the other. 

Seven elevator shafts located all along this 180 metre building will take employees from ground floor level to one of the four storeys of the building that accommodate offices. Having an office with a view is not going to be an issue for ITER staff, because all offices face outwards and all the views are impressive.

Eight hundred square metres of the ground floor are devoted to the company canteen, with an adjacent 250-square-metre coffee area with bay windows and a large terrace overlooking the Durance valley and surrounding mountains—an exceptional dining setting for staff, visiting scientists and guests! To host meetings and seminars, the Headquarters building is home to a Council meeting room with 110 seats on the top storey and also a fully equipped, 510-seat amphitheatre.

Access to the ITER platform and scientific facilities from Headquarters is provided by footbridge that links the first floor of the building to the ITER Control Room, which will be located one level below the project construction platform. The thirty-metre-long footbridge will become a tunnel when it reaches the platform, providing direct pedestrian access to the research facilities.

Construction of the ITER Headquarters, which will host approximately 500 people and which has a surface of more than 20,000 m2, began in summer 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2012.

For more information and further impressions of the future ITER Headquarters building click here.