University of Economics & Business, Library and Learning Center, Vienna

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The Library and Learning Centre (LLC) at the University of Economics and Business in Vienna, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, will be located at the centre of the university campus.

Zaha Hadid Architects won a design competition held by the university in 2008. The two-phase competition involved Morphosis and Prof. Hans Hollein in the second phase. Zaha Hadid Architects was declared the final winner in November. Studio Massimiliano Fuksas and Kada Witfield Studio were also among the competitors for the design.

The winning team included Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher as the designers and Cornelius Schlotthauer as the project architect.

The LLC will house a library for the university students and various facilities for carrying out and supporting learning activities. The project will be completed along with other facilities in the university, in 2012.

The campus is spread over an area of 102,000m² and will feature workspace for about 3,100 students. The site is situated near the Prater entertainment park.

University master plan

The master plan of Vienna’s university of economics and business studies has been prepared by BUSarchitektur. Laura P Spinadel of the architecture company was awarded the contract for master planning in May 2008.

BUSarchitektur has partnered with BOA (Buro fur offensive Aleatorik) and MAS for the master planning of the university campus, including the LLC. Theme visualisation for the project has been provided by BOA.

The master plan divides the entire university site into several plots in which buildings serving different purposes will be constructed.

The university’s departments will surround the LLC, which has been placed at the centre of the university to provide easier access.

LCC structure and design

An eight-member team has been appointed by Zaha Hadid Architects for the LLC project. The members include Stefan Rinnebach, Jan Hübener, Richard Baumgartner, Kristoph Nowak, Romy Heiland, Niels Kespohl, Marc Philippe Nieberg and Enrico Kleinke.

Engineering firm Arup Berlin has been selected as the consultant to carry out structural, mechanical and electrical engineering (M&E). Arup Berlin has also been chosen as the façade engineer for the project. ATP Wien has been appointed as the cost consultant for the project. Fire protection systems will be installed in the LLC by HHP West, Bielefeld.

The LLC’s structure projects upwards as a cubic block with straight and inclined edges. On the exterior, the straight edges of the structure separate as they progress inward creating a curvilinear architecture and forming an interior canyon that will be used as the central public plaza.

The rest of the facilities are placed in a single volume that separates into two ribbons. The ribbons wind around one another and enclose the LLC’s facilities. The ground floor is 6m high while the rest of the floors of the five-storey building are 4m high.

Facilities

The LLC will be spread over a gross area of 42,000m² (net area of 28,000m²). The facility comprises a 30m-high five-storey building that is 136m long and 76m wide.

The building will contain lounges, a language laboratory, a library, classroom facilities for training purposes, a book shop and a copy shop. In addition, it will include cloakrooms, a data centre, an auditorium and a range of other services.

University construction

The university master plan was unveiled in May 2008. The design phase is scheduled for completion in 2009 with the construction planned to begin in 2010. Construction work on the university, including the LLC, is expected to be complete in 2012. The facilities will be operational for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The construction contract of the LLC and the other facilities in the university has been awarded to the Drees & Sommer and Delta Projektconsult consortium. The total university campus is estimated to cost approximately €250m, while the estimated cost of the LLC has not been disclosed.

The new company Projektgesellschaft Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien Neu GmbH has been jointly set up by the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) for the construction and operation of the university campus, including the LLC.