salzburg college of education

urban design concept
the overall urban figure of the ensemble on akademiestraße, with its characteristic, simply structured appearance, is striking. the readability of these characteristics is still given despite recent additions, but clarity and strength have become blurred. these changes justify the further development of the ensemble for the pedagogical university. the urban design concept aims to preserve the memory of the overall ensemble while reinterpreting its form and correcting its deficiencies in relation to the green space. the urban critique regarding the barrier to the green space and the large massing can be applied to object 15. the buildings to be preserved are products of their time; despite the now nonexistent heritage protection, they exhibit fundamental interior and exterior spatial qualities. therefore, they should be retained in their original appearance, and their qualities should be highlighted.
the additional required areas and volumes for the pedagogical university are designed under three key urban design principles: appreciation of the existing buildings – with a clear positioning of the new building, preservation of a university-focused inner courtyard, and opening and permeability of the courtyard towards the meadows of freisaal.

functional decisions
where previously the practice elementary school was spatially integrated into the university, it is now planned as an independent building on viktor-keldorfer-strasse to enable identity, appropriate scale, and adequate connection to open space. a potential future separate management of the elementary school is thereby possible. the university requires a congress center for continuing education, teaching, and seminars. it is positioned as a distributing and connecting space, an indoor campus, between the existing buildings and the new “knowledge hill.” embedded as a single-story into the terrain, the congress center supports the inner courtyard, now transformed into a university arena above ground level. the southern existing building (object 14) continues the spatial concept of the library and is used as a natural sciences laboratory. administration is concentrated in O-13, whose second floor is newly constructed and provides optimally lit atelier space for the arts. the park, now raised by one floor, serves university events outdoors, where lectures and exercises can take place on terraced platforms. the cafeteria, a meeting point for staff and students, is located in this public area, with seating expandable during warm seasons.

practice elementary school
two clusters, each with five classrooms, are located on the first floor along viktor-keldorfer-strasse, seamlessly connected to the outdoor space via ramps and terraces. open learning is central to the spatial concept of the clusters and additional spaces. sliding walls allow classrooms of a cluster to open fluidly to learning zones, and glass elements enable teachers to oversee the learning zones from adjacent rooms. the marketplaces – centers of the clusters – have direct access to the front terraces. large roof sheds extend the vertical space and provide optimal, glare-free lighting.

university
the principles of open learning also form the basis of the pedagogical university’s spatial lab. seminar rooms, lecture halls, and staff workspaces are flexibly usable. an open spatial arrangement supports diverse teaching and learning models. rigid rooms no longer meet pedagogical requirements. learning and living take place in sequences and spatial situations. the indoor campus, the congress center, connects all areas of the university and serves as a space for events of all kinds and as a meeting point for all. it invites sitting and observing, relaxing and learning, and allows good orientation within the building. its spatial conception embodies the spirit of the university: openness, clarity, connectivity, generosity, and light-filled friendliness.

open space
the building ensemble on akademiestraße is defined by the specific courtyards associated with school functions. this element remains the focus of the building concept: the university arena is directly above the congress center and connected to it at multiple points. views of the floodplains are made possible by the form of the knowledge hill for both the university arena and O-13. the path from unipark nonntal leads through the university arena into the meadows of freisaal. the dominance of natural woodland is also present on the plateau; therefore, no miniature trees are planted in containers. greenery penetrates through the paved surfaces, and artificial green screens gently zone the university arena. seating islands, stairs, and terraces give the arena the character of an engaging, active outdoor stage.

daylight, balconies
the necessary additional volumes are designed to preserve the character of the ensemble and not overwhelm the scale of the existing buildings. an “architecture of disappearance” can achieve this. the indoor campus is not a building but a walkable, traversable landscape that connects old and new buildings, inside and outside. the knowledge hill articulates the former urban edges on akademiestraße, forms a terraced landscape for the university arena, and opens views to the meadows at freisaal. while the edges along akademiestraße and toward the green space are clearly defined with printed, shading louvers, the knowledge hill opens softly toward the university arena. wide overhanging roofs protect from sun and weather, provoking interaction between inside and outside, between knowledge hill and arena. all areas are flooded with light through targeted measures. the atrium of the knowledge hill channels light deep into the congress area. the atria of O-13 serve as light-conveying elements, and interior zones are cleared to allow natural daylight deep into the building, activating the spaces in their generous layout. the two-story congress center is lit via interior courtyards, which free up the already modified areas in O-13 and O-14, and through strategically placed skylights. large openings to the embedded floors not only allow natural light but make the area experienced as a whole.

cost efficiency
the new buildings are set back from the existing structures to avoid underpinning. the extensively embedded congress center activates ground cooling and heating, ensuring a balanced climate. temperature regulation is achieved through architectural measures: louvers and overhanging balconies prevent heat gain from high summer sun. surrounding plaster walkways simplify facade cleaning. south of the library, the former row of trees is restored to provide summer shading and comfortable temperatures for the spaces behind.

structural concept main building
the planned expansion of the existing complex is conceived as a two-story, flat building whose roof serves as usable outdoor space for the university campus and as a publicly accessible link between green areas. at the outer corner of the expansion – opposite the existing wings – the three-story knowledge hill is placed, sharply defined externally and terraced internally toward the public open space.

vertical load-bearing structure “base floors”
the ceilings of the two flat floors are designed as approx. 25 cm thick flat slabs over a grid of about 7.6m x 7.6m – the grid is adapted to usage and shifts in the area of large lecture halls. the flat slab allows economical dimensioning and unrestricted placement of lighting, acoustics, and building services. beams are arranged under the ceilings along the axes above lecture halls.

vertical and horizontal load-bearing structure “floor construction”
the knowledge hill is also planned with flat slabs, its grid matching that of the base. cantilevered upper floors along the block edges are supported by beams above the ground floor. terrace surfaces are thermally separated continuously; where their width is too large for cantilevering, they are supported separately with columns. the floor construction is braced by a reinforced concrete core in the building’s circulation area, supplemented on both sides of the staircase by a steel-tube truss.

building bracing “base”
the large number of reinforced concrete walls in both orthogonal directions sufficiently braces the two flat floors and the indoor campus. the shaft along the core is rotated 90°, but the continuation of the vertical core structure ensures functional overall bracing.

structural concept 
the design of the two-story, partially basemented practice elementary school (PVS) has two characteristics: the cantilevers of the first floor over the ground floor on both long sides, and the gym with the need for larger spans in the basement. the structural solutions are simply represented in the ground and first floor plans: short cantilevers in the transverse direction are supported by slab-like columns on the first floor. from these columns, reinforced concrete parapets along both building ends are planned for the cantilevers, additionally supported by steel-tube hangers – creating full-height load-bearing structures for parts of the upper floor extending beyond the ground floor. the transverse parapet beam forms a continuous end support for the ground floor slab and carries an additional central support for the first-floor slab. the free span of the gym is bridged by reinforced concrete beams, similar to the large lecture halls of the main building.

building bracing
the bracing is provided by reinforced concrete walls in the circulation area, together with steel-tube truss structures in the transverse direction.

fire protection and escape routes concept
the pedagogical university complex is divided into three buildings for fire safety. each building forms a main fire section of up to five floors, the largest, the indoor campus and knowledge hill, covering approx. 8,200 m² gross floor area. this exceeds the OIB guidelines. to achieve equivalent safety, compensatory measures are used, as in retail buildings with comparable multi-story fire sections. the building is fully sprinklered to prevent rapid fire spread. smoke curtains are installed around ceiling openings, and smoke is mechanically extracted. despite the high level of installations, the concept remains economical, avoiding costly structural fire sections and keeping smoke volumes low due to sprinklers. in O-13 and O-14, two safe staircases provide escape within less than 40m travel. in the indoor campus, each floor has escape options both through the safe staircase and directly outside; in the knowledge hill, the second escape route leads through the exterior, prioritizing diagonal escape. in the elementary school, due to its small size, technical fire measures are largely omitted. the building is divided into fire sections per floor under 1,600 m², with a central safe staircase as the primary escape route; the second escape uses the terraces.

energy concept
the energy concept relies on passive optimization, including largely omitting suspended ceilings to utilize thermal mass. the building is compact with high insulation. all technical building services are placed in the basements. vertical shafts minimize horizontal distribution space in occupancy areas. minimum hygienic ventilation for classrooms, seminar rooms, and the gym is provided by ventilation systems, designed according to CO₂ limits for optimal performance. systems include effective heat and moisture recovery for winter. adiabatic evaporative cooling preconditions supply air in summer without mechanical refrigeration or refrigerants; nighttime cooling is also possible. effective glare and sun protection reduce external loads. daylight is used via atria and roof sheds, saving significant lighting energy. base heating is provided by concrete core activation; during occupancy, regulated heating registers in each supply air zone maintain individual room temperatures. the gym is heated by rapid-response warm water ceiling radiant panels, ensuring sufficient heating even at low occupancy and reduced ventilation. domestic hot water for the kitchen and gym wet areas is supplied by a central system with circulation; remaining hot water is generated via electrically heated under-sink tanks to minimize losses.