Work has begun on LABe - Digital Gastronomy Lab, the innovation laboratory dedicated to the digital transformation of gastronomy, which will occupy 1,400 square metres of the Prism in Tabakalera, the centre of contemporary culture in Donostia-San Sebastian.

The beginning of the summer is the expected date for the opening of LABe - Digital Gastronomy Lab, a platform for co-creation, exploration, experimentation and validation of new concepts, products, services and experiences, with technological and digital components, in the gastronomy and catering sector. This open innovation living lab, which will be managed by the Basque Culinary Center, is part of Etorkizuna Eraikiz (Building the Future), an initiative of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, in collaboration with the Basque Government and the City Council of Donostia-San Sebastian.

During a visit to the facilities, Joxe Mari Aizega, director of the Basque Culinary Center, explained the distribution of the space that will host LABe - Digital Gastronomy Lab. “The architectural proposal for the space will be based on the use of very clear geometries. Its two floors will house a co-working area that will bring together startups and industry, a research laboratory for the prototyping of new gastronomic developments, new products, services and experiences, a mini-amphitheatre, meeting rooms, kitchens, a 360° experimental room in which immersive dining experiences will be offered and a catering space open to the public in which startups can test technological solutions in a real environment,” explained Aizega.

This infrastructure project, designed by Montegui Construcciones, Foraster Arquitectos, Boslan and DOT, has been conceived with the objective of contributing to the active design of the future of the gastronomic value chain by catalysing the digital transition of the sector. LABe aims to strengthen the capacities of all the agents that make up the gastronomic ecosystem: specialist companies, the catering sector, innovative companies dedicated to the transformation and distribution of food, and R&D&I agents, while at the same time becoming a leading international laboratory specialising in the digital transformation of gastronomy.