The Networked Campus

In the coming years, the Institute of Digital Sciences Austria (IDSA), a new university for 6000 students and 1550 employees, will be built in Linz. Located next to the existing Science Park on the outskirts of the city, the new complex is to be realised in three construction phases. Our competition submission proposes a progressively extendable campus with networked, pavilion-like units grouped around a central circulation zone and a green atrium. The underlying modular structure of the clusters ensures flexible adaptation to the spatial requirements.

City-Nature-Air

The building site for the new university is located on the northern periphery of Linz at the foot of a slope on the edge of the Upper Austrian Mühlviertel region. Neighbouring to the west is the Science Park of the Johannes Kepler University; a housing estate and the highway lie to the east. A new city railway and the extended existing tram line will provide the necessary public transportation connections in the future. Given the hillside location and the local thermal currents, the planning area also plays a role for the urban climate: the position of the new building volumes should therefore have as little impact as possible on the flow of cold air towards the city.

A Pivotal Hub

In the first construction phase, our concept foresees an entrance building that sets the stage for the future identity – a hub as an interface between business and research that bundles all representative functions. In addition to the university management, seminar and laboratory rooms, and service facilities, the main building also accommodates space for fairs, conferences, and exhibitions. Rooms such as the “maker space” and the laboratory workshop can also be used by external parties.

»The campus consists of a network of pavilion-like units that are connected internally via a communicative circulation level.«

Modular Double Clusters

For the subsequent construction phases, we have developed a small-scale, pavilion-like cluster structure with flexible floor plans that enable versatile usage as seminar, project, or office space as required. Two clusters are combined into a single unit. All workshops, seminar rooms, and open learning areas realised in the second and third construction phases are grouped on two levels around a central circulation and communication zone. The enclosed, green atrium courtyard provides a sheltered break area and encourages social encounters. Above ground, broad open staircases connect the terraced site from one level to the next.