Salzburg University of Education

The university is part of a school centre. While being an urban ensemble, the centre acts as a transition to the surrounding grassland. The space allocation programme was executed using the available components of the existing ridge structure as well as through the implementation of a new building.

The aim of the design for PH Salzburg was to preserve the character of the 60s ensemble on Akademiestraße while simultaneously breathing new life into it. The existing structure provided an excellent framework for the new purpose, including an open floor plan concept that merges offices, seminar rooms and common areas. The concrete girder construction allows for a free division of the space and open areas. The space allocation programme was executed with the utmost transparency and flexibility possible. Nevertheless, from the perspective of structure, fire safety and building physics, the repair and restoration represented a challenge for both planners and companies involved. The areas required to achieve the expansion were arranged in a groundlevel connecting element linking the two existing buildings. Here, visitors find a new entrance and a multiuse foyer landscape. Moreover, there is space for a twolevel lecture hall that extends into the basement as well as a cafeteria. The auditorium is the spatial centrepiece of the project. Mobile partition walls and an expandable stage allow for a wide variety of events.

The new connecting roof above the expansion is constructed as a girder grid made of reinforced concrete, thereby allowing for spacious, column-free rooms. This construction made of exposed concrete is certainly the defining spatial structure of the new wing. The fact that the grid is perforated, making space for inner atriums and skylights, contributes to the zoning and illumination of the deep floor plan. It also renders open lounges and communication areas possible. This project furthermore exemplifies how existing buildings can be attributed new purposes in the spirit of sustainability, and how to achieve the transformation into a contemporary educational facility. This process of redesigning was continued, thereby becoming a design principle: Visible raw ceilings, uncovered conduit runs and unrendered wall surfaces visualise the changes that have occurred. Seen from the outside, the metal sunshades remain the only visible change to the building. The delicate construction consisting of expanded metal contrasts with the concrete slabs of the existing façade.