An Academic Cluster Pointing to the Future
The Vienna School of Economics Campus Plan
By Stanley Collyer
At the turn of the 21st Century, the School of Economics in Vienna (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien), the largest of its kind in Europe, was bursting at the seams. Over 23,000 students were scattered throughout different sites in the city. When it became obvious that it would be necessary to consolidate the programs at a central location, the decision was made to select an area near the Prater for the new campus—the site of the World Exhibition Area and Fairgrounds. The building program was ambitious, with a number of facilities planned to accommodate all the programs, and the plan was typically European, as student dormitories were not envisaged as an integral part of the new campus.
To begin with, a local Viennese firm, BUSarchitektur, was engaged to complete a masterplan for the site, and number of renowned architects were then commissioned to design the various facilities: No.MAD Arquitectos, CRABstudio Architects, Estudio Carme Pinós, Atelier Hitoshi Abe, and BUSarchitektur, the latter being the author of the masterplan.