The goal for this programmatically complex academic facility, located in Vienna, was to develop a clear organizational strategy that would maximize flexibility, promote interaction between academic departments and allow for a high degree of permeability across the site. To accomplish this, a series of slender overlapping volumes were arranged along the length of the site.
The spaces between the overlapping volumes are shared atriums which provide opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to cross paths and congregate, while simultaneously mediating the interior environment by regulating airflow and day lighting.
The slender volumes maximize views towards the urban and natural preserves and act as boundaries that define large exterior plazas as well as a sequence of interconnected plazas in between the building volumes. The plazas create intimate areas for congregation, define distinct entry courts for each department and provide connections to the larger network of open spaces around the campus.
