With 78 percent of all materials used in the upper floors made of wood, the new library and seminar center at BOKU Vienna is a true pioneer in sustainable construction.

The Ilse Wallentin House – named after the first woman to earn a doctorate at this university – was completed in 2020 as the first large-scale timber construction in a university context in Vienna. The four-story, freestanding timber-frame building offers space for ten seminar rooms, a library with 100 reading places, and 40 rooms belonging to the institute. The building rests on a reinforced concrete base that forms the basement. Above this, a structural grid of glulam supports, as well as walls and ceilings made of cross-laminated timber, determine the appearance. Left visible, the wood material has a clear presence – the surfaces appear to merge seamlessly, creating a harmonious spatial and façade image both inside and out. Generous, full-surface windows fit harmoniously into the grid, creating a light-flooded teaching and learning atmosphere and an immediate visual connection to the lush greenery of the outdoor space.