project: 1220 danube tower
design studio: universicality – vertical university campus
students: felix feigel, fabiana roppelt, helke kölschbach
institution: university of innsbruck, i.sd
tutors: robert r. neumayr, josip bajcer
In the course of the design in the summer semester 2020, we had set ourselves the goal of developing an innovative university building.
After analysing our reference objects “Marquis Marriott Hotel” by John Portmann and the “Tres Grand Bibliotheque” by Rem Koolhaas, the first step was to find the right form. With reference to the system of porosity, our 1220 Danube Tower, an approximately 170 meter high university building dominated by green and organic impressions, was created.
Located on the Donauinsel in Vienna, it is in the immediate neighborhood of the DC tower. A plaza with trees and a water system, accessible from several sides, form an inviting area for students and guests of the campus. The different campus areas can be entered via three central access cores.
Here we formed the exact negative of the system of porosity and let the bubbles of the interior determine the void. In addition to various seminar rooms, offices and lecture halls, the building contains a library with balconies facing south-west and a panoramic restaurant facing west.
All in all, the “skybubbles” attached to the outside as facade elements serve not only a design purpose. Carried by an exo-skeleton, a white belt winds around the building. The partially glazed “resting bubbles“, which are directly connected to the room program, function as a retreat for students to concentrate on learning or relax. The remaining, fully greened and accessible “green bubbles” are intended to counteract the noise of the city. The overgrown surfaces filter the air and absorb the sound coming from the nearby highway and industrial area, thus creating a pleasant learning atmosphere.
When positioning and aligning the course on the available property, we took into account a wide range of environmental influences such as the position of the sun, sound analyses and public transport connections.
