CAMPUS WU IS AN ENTITY: The Campus WU site lies hidden away between the Prater Park and the Vienna Fair, embedded in a city structure with sufficient open space to develop an urban campus concept. Not only shall the new WU function just like any other modern university, it will also shape the opportunities for an active educational landscape. The Campus shall be an internally coherent oasis with pavilions in the university ‘Garden’ and with its edges featuring green open spaces. The interior life of this very special place must be explored and discovered. Contact points with the city form part of this university park concept: one of the entrances to the academic complex is via a sculpture garden near the Vienna Fair plaza; an entrance with terraced wooden platforms is located on Trabrennstraße; another features a topography comprising a flight of concrete steps, visible from Prater Park.
THE FLOWING SPACE ALLOWS YOU TO BREATHE: The Campus is designed as a “Walk along Park” with different stations and interconnected squares from which the specific areas are accessible through green alleys. Progressing along this sequence of plazas, each educational path becomes a journey of adventure. One path takes you from the topographic modelled landscape near the Executive Academy between the individual departments to the Administration building and specialised libraries. Another progresses from the wooden folded terraces between the Teaching Center and the Students Center, past the departments and the Food Court to the plaza in front of the Library and Learning Center. ….and in between you can always catch a glimpse of the Vienna Prater.
MASTER PLAN RULEBOOK FOR THE ENTIRE AREA: During the modern era, the campus concept, which dates back to the Greek Agora and the tradition of the campus university, has developed into a complex urban entity. The campus system is composed of the following principles: balanced proportions, and equilibrium between separated buildings. The character and diversity of each autonomous Campus piece accentuate their individual identities. The open space in between these parts is organised by platforms, parks, ponds and walkways.