Campus for Top Research
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
The well-known ISTA Campus in Klosterneuburg near Vienna has now gained an innovative, urban, and sustainable addition. Our 1st-prize-winning entry to the international competition embodies ISTA’s commitment to the future and the interdisciplinary exchange between researchers and students.
The campus for basic research and post-graduate training in the natural sciences, which has achieved a global status since its establishment in 2009, should provide an optimal setting for up to 1,500 researchers by 2036. The new buildings are designed to encourage scientific debate and strengthen the identity of the institute, which promotes excellence in both studying and research.
Top architecture for top research
Our design is based on ISTA’s values of openness, communication, and sustainability. We convinced the jury with not only a series of architectural measures that promote interdisciplinary exchange, but also the buildings’ efficient spaces and high levels of functionality. The various research areas support the needs of the different users and are perfectly interlinked. The integration of the surrounding nature into the new complex also ensures a high quality of user experience. Our objectives for the ecological performance of the project were acknowledged by the jury’s unanimous award of the maximum number of points in the category “sustainability.”
A pacesetter for climate neutrality
The design process, which was carried out in partnership with ATP’s research company for sustainable planning and building, ATP sustain, and in line with the measures of the ATP Green Deal, focused on the use of sustainable building materials and the development of resource-friendly solutions. The energy-efficient building envelope, geothermal energy, and the functionally optimized operation of the facility – together with the choice of composite timber slabs, the climate-sensitive design of the external spaces, the use of material excavated from the site to model the landscape, and the “mixed-in-place process,” which will also lead to a reduction in site traffic – make major contributions to the safeguarding of the climate-friendly building ensemble.
The laboratories of the future must be more than scientific locations. They must embody openness, communication, and sustainability. These are the expectations with which our project is aligned.
Dario Travaš
Partner and Head of Design in Vienna
Innovative surroundings for research, networking, and exchange
The extension to the campus includes two laboratory buildings, an office building, a cafeteria, a learning center, and a parking garage. The learning center and cafeteria are easily accessible, especially thanks to the landscape of steps and ramps to the south. A platform provides a link between the various functional areas and helps visitors to intuitively orient themselves on the campus. This offers access to every building via a network of paths, terraces, and steps. And it also provides an attractive area for communication and exchange and is available to users as a recreation space.
The design concept convinced us with its investigation of the topography and its integration into the overall campus and forms a high-quality and autonomous architectural solution. (…) The new elements will become part – and strengthen the identity – of the existing campus.
Jury Statement
