The main volume of the Phaeno Science Center is supported by columns in the shape of inverted cones. In addition to supporting the structure, the cones provide access to the building above. The Center is lifted in order to allow the space below become part of the urban fabric. The overall design arises from the axes of the surrounding activity, which the completed building absorbs and intensifies. The distorted shape of the building is a strategy used by Hadid to convey movement and the sense of transformation.

ABOVE: Phaeno Science Center, Wolfsburg, Germany, 1999–05. Photo: Hélène Binet