The Open Innovation Center, a pilot factory, enhances the faculty.

Production, research, teaching … are brought together under one roof. Open, multi-level spatial sequences create an emphatically communicative atmosphere and generate a special team spirit.

 According to the urban planning intentions of the competition, the aim is to create a building that blends into the existing ensemble while also innovatively enriching the campus: a sequence of communicative spaces with a range of working zones, high flexibility, an accentuated openness at ground level, a sustainable, ecological constructional approach and a forward-looking energy concept.

The low silhouette of the new building pursues these original urban planning intentions. The deliberate horizontality and constant presence of the landscape are fundamental characteristics of the Linz Campus. It is shaped by reinforced concrete structures infilled with concrete block or metal. One aspect of the competition project is to continue this specific, structuralist ductus in order to achieve an unmistakable overall coherence. A further aspect is the case-by-case reinterpretation of this approach in line with each specific subject.

The LIT Open Innovation Center is completely built from prefabricated timber elements. It sits upon a solid base of red coloured concrete, whose contents include a highly sensitive cleanroom. The timber structure built above this meets the latest ecological requirements and creates a special interior atmosphere. The facade consists of delicate, red stained slats that also protect the upper level windows from excessive solar radiation (the north-facing shed roof brings additional daylight). Generous ground-floor glazing provides unrestricted transparency and visual connections between inside and outside.