flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Henning Larsen to design new university building in the Alps

University Buildings

Henning Larsen to design new university building in the Alps

The project will be Henning Larsen’s first in Austria.


By David Malone, Managing Editor | January 4, 2022
MCI exterior
Images courtesy Sora

Henning Larsen has been named as the designer of the new 376,700-sf campus building for Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) after a two-stage competition and dialogue process. The project is located on the edge of the Innsbruck city center.

The new building will create a unified campus for MCI for the first time in the school’s history. Bordered by the city to the south and east and by the historical Hofgarten to the north and west (and the Alps all around), the building is designed to have no back or front. Multi-story entries are carved into each facade to break the scale of the building in relation to its surroundings. These pockets are planted with gardens to match the identity of their neighbor. For example, the mountain-facing north entry features alpine flowers while the southern city-facing entry is an urban terrace.

Classrooms and lecture halls populate the outer edge of the ground level, framing a fluid interior space with a large community stair in the center that links the three levels of learning spaces and also serves as a community space itself. Learning floors are designed to be open and flexible, with nearly as much unprogrammed space for students to study, socialize, and rest as there is actual classroom space.

MCI interior

The building’s upper floors are divided in two sections, one containing offices for MCI faculty, administration, and students, and the other containing laboratories and research spaces. The design is dense, with four cores that serve not just as vertical circulation, but also as social hubs within the large floorplates.

Construction on the facility is expected to start in fall 2023 with move-in expected for early 2025.

Related Stories

University Buildings | Aug 12, 2021

Central Michigan University’s Chippewa Champions Center completes

The project was designed in partnership between Populous and GMB Architecture + Engineering.

University Buildings | Aug 6, 2021

Is air quality the next hot campus amenity?

New research shows that students want to be back on campus, but they—and their parents—are asking more of higher ed institutions.

Architects | Aug 5, 2021

Lord Aeck Sargent's post-Katerra future, with LAS President Joe Greco

After three years under the ownership of Katerra, which closed its North American operations last May, the architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent is re-establishing itself as an independent company, with an eye toward strengthening its eight practices and regional presence in the U.S.

Contractors | Jul 23, 2021

The aggressive growth of Salas O'Brien, with CEO Darin Anderson

Engineering firm Salas O'Brien has made multiple acquisitions over the past two years to achieve its Be Local Everywhere business model. In this exclusive interview for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sits down with the firm's Chairman and CEO, Darin Anderson, to discuss its business model.

University Buildings | Jul 14, 2021

New 678-bed student housing development breaks ground near the University of South Carolina

CRG has partnered with Landmark Properties on the project.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021