Works begin on CaixaResearch, Spain's first specialized immunology center

Cranes will begin working this June on the grounds where La Soci is located, the former sports complex for CaixaBank employees situated in front of Cosmocaixa, next to Barcelona's Ronda de Dalt. The building will be gradually demolished, with the aim of making space to erect a research center dedicated to immunology. Promoted by the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, it is expected to include more than 300 researchers. The process to attract talent will begin next year.

The CaixaResearch Institute will seek to advance existing knowledge about the immune system and its role in global health and infectious, oncological, and neurological diseases. It will be the first in Spain and one of the first in Europe to be dedicated to this issue, opting for a transversal approach among the different scientific and technological disciplines involved in the study of the immune system. It will also focus on innovation and the transfer of results to society.

The center will be able to research the development of new targeted treatments against malfunctioning cells, such as cancerous cells, viruses, or bacteria. The immune system is not only the first line of defense against classic pathogens ---viruses or bacteria---, but it is also a system for identifying other harmful agents from inside and outside the body. It has the ability to memorize all molecules with which it has come into contact and generate a defense reaction, which can be used to find cures for different pathologies.

"With this center, we want to position Spanish science at the level of major international benchmarks in immunology, a field that offers us endless opportunities to be more efficient in the prevention of some diseases, as well as in better diagnosis and greater therapeutic options," explains the president of the scientific committee of "la Caixa" Foundation, Javier Solana.

This research will be accompanied from the beginning by that carried out by other centers promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation, such as the Barcelona Global Institute (ISGlobal), the AIDS Research Institute (IrsiCaixa), the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), and the Barcelona Beta Research Centre (BBRC). "The institute will be a catalyst that will create a turning point in scientific production and will enhance pre-existing cooperation efforts, foster new synergies between scientific communities, and make the great potential of the CaixaResearch Institute's scientific-technical resources available to the four centers," says Josep Tabernero, director of VHIO and scientific project director of the CaixaResearch Institute.

Works expected to finish in 2025

The chosen space for the CaixaResearch Institute, where there were previously tennis courts, swimming pools, a gym, and a multi-sports pavilion, was bought by the "la Caixa" Foundation from CaixaBank in February 2020, for a value of 12.1 million euros. The acquisition was made after the complex closed its doors in 2018 and, subsequently, the association of bank employees and retirees moved to a new location, on Sardenya street, next to Ronda Guinardó.

The space chosen for the CaixaResearch Institute was bought by the "la Caixa" Foundation in February 2020

The scientific complex will have an area of about 19,000 square meters and will feature spaces and equipment for scientific activity ---dry and wet laboratories, scientific-technical services, and innovation spaces---, office areas, and spaces for organizing events or training sessions. At the project's presentation a year ago, the La Caixa Foundation estimated the investment needed to boost the project at more than 60 million euros, which will be allocated to both its construction and its equipment.

New square over the ring road that will connect with Cosmocaixa

The definition of the construction project involved the modification of the Metropolitan General Plan (PGM), approved unanimously last year in the municipal plenary session. The Generalitat has also given its approval. A total of 53,000 square meters have been reordered. This area includes the plot where the former complex of the banking entity's workers' association was located, with 16,000 square meters; part of the land around the Torrent del Frare Blanc, and green areas of municipal ownership in front of the Ronda de Dalt.

In addition to the construction of the CaixaResearch Institute, the agreement reached between the La Caixa Foundation and the Barcelona City Council establishes the urbanization of a new public square over the ring road, connecting the new center with Cosmocaixa. Likewise, at the back of the center, a public green area of 1,200 square meters will be created, next to the Collserola Park.