SWAP Architektur

Description

BOKU campus in Vienna has been extended with a timber construction. The open entrance level and the public terrace create a communicative interface. In addition to the atmospheric qualities of the wood surfaces, the high proportion of daylight contributes to a pleasant learning and working environment. The appearance of the building is characterised by its timber skeleton construction. The façade grid of untreated wood is continued inside. The support structure becomes a design element. The four-story wooden structure was constructed from prefabricated cross-laminated timber elements. The base, which is partially underground and the stairwell are made of reinforced concrete. Public and highly frequented rooms are situated on the lower levels. The departments, each of which comprises offices, a meeting room and a small kitchen are located on the upper two levels. After the design team had worked together to create a comprehensive BIM model, it was used to extract all relevant information to manufacture the individual CLT elements. This information provided important data that was valuable for facility management. The building has been recognised for its sustainable design. It scored 965 out of 1,000 possible points of the Austrian klimaaktiv building standard and was thus awarded a gold certificate. In addition to the climate-neutral construction materials, the compactness of the building and its positive effect on energy efficiency were praised.