"TU Univercity 2015" is much more than a restoration project. Totally new and comprehensive features must be established by the 200-year anniversary in 2015. The top project goal is the creation of optimal basic conditions for those who study and work at the TU Vienna. Therefore, the main points of the project have been set up on topics such as accessibility, sustainability, art/culture, and corporate identity.    


Right here and right now, the TU Vienna has the opportunity to determine its own future. Its earned autonomy and the resources that came out of the general restoration enabled the TU Vienna to establish its own objectives for the next decades. Top-class committees have discussed major topics related to a new ranking and have developed solution approaches. The purpose of this process was the development of comprehensive project features and planning standards that could ensure an equitable and balanced implementation to the last stage of the project.          

Firstly, an entire existing university is redesigned. This offers the huge chance of strengthening the identification of the employees and students with the TU.  Interdisciplinarity and the internal and external perceptibility must be improved, and lastly, a "TU blue thread" should be pulled through buildings and open areas.  The strategic committee approaches were the TU opening, enabling communication, factoring in life realities, the preservation of authenticity, as well as corporate architecture. The following measures are envisioned: an innovative information and signage system, communication areas, more attractive spaces (also for sports or recreational activities), appealing and inviting entrances and passages, as well as an increased uniformity of the area (keyword: campus).          

Art is an important connecting factor for the environment: on the one hand, it is an internal knowledge principle – much more so, as far as architecture is concerned; on the other hand, we are surrounded by cultural institutions. Nevertheless, art must not be “put on” and remain static. In addition to major contests, we should also uphold temporary projects, collaborations with TU neighbours, as well as an attractive event programme with exhibitions, concerts, and so forth. The TU must be ranked as a cultural institution.

TU can contribute the finest research expertise to the field of environmental protection. Lasting solutions, resource conservation, and a special regard for its own researchers, faculty, and students, all these are in demand. Therefore, this topic must be tackled rationally to prevent any shams.  Among others, a waste management and a mobility concept are developed, and the energy efficiency must be increased.

Quality standards were developed for all space types – offices, various labs, workshops, auditoriums, seminar rooms, library, and so forth. All spaces must be optimally equipped and should offer flexible functionality as much as possible. The standards are effective for the entire TU and should also be of high quality. The equipment updating periods were defined, and an “intelligent” internal technology is deployed.

TU spends 30 million Euro annually for its space. Therefore, each space that is wrongly used costs cold cash. In other words, the resources must be used efficiently! The space allocation must be based on current and future needs. This includes a new assessment of the “grown” structures. International benchmark figures, current usage, and development plans are all involved in this process.  The unified key figures model for spaces has field-specific space profiles and includes an evaluation of employees and students. This leads to a new equitable space allocation. The university equally provides flexible, multi-functional space structures, as well as manages auditoriums and seminary spaces and a transparent space allocation.

Presently, there is hardly any student area at TU. This must radically change. We must create studying and residence areas, event spaces, lockers, bicycles parking spaces, and others. The timely access – for example to Internet areas – must be improved. Finally, we must facilitate the emergence of an inner-city campus spirit, which would make the students feel comfortable at their university.

The projected timely and spatial TU opening – certain areas are accessible around the clock – also requires in turn “protection measures.” We have to differentiate between public, semi-public (i.e. Institute areas) and internal spaces (i.e. research labs), and the space categories associated with them must be organised accordingly. We have also planned a modern, contact-free access and locking system (TU card) with extended functions (IT, telephone services, and others). This must ensue in accordance with the Employees’ Council and with the Union of Students. We must institute central safety facilities, and the porters must take over supervision tasks in addition to reception and information responsibilities. We are also striving to achieve an improvement of our safety conditions at the time of the TU opening.

If employees and students feel comfortable at their work place, this is beneficial for research and teaching. Therefore, we must practice an active employee protection, which would facilitate performance-oriented activities in a motivated environment. We must create attractive communication and social areas, involve the students in the employee protection, and offer prevention and ergonomics programmes.

benefits everybody! The project offers the possibility to achieve “accessibility” over and above pertinent regulations, and thus to create optimal basic conditions not only for the disabled persons affiliated with TU. Accessibility refers not only to architectural, but also to organisational measures.  This extends to tactile, optical, and auditory signage systems, to adequate study and work places for disabled persons, and to other similar facilities. The implementation of accessible, advanced action concepts must take place in consultation with Accessibility Consultants in order to plan, implement, and execute on the basis of Austrian regulations, supplemented by the Action Catalogue of the “Accessible Buildings” Committee. This includes measures for blind and deaf persons, accessible fire protection, and standards for individual learning support and information technology.

In the ICT field, we must use expensive, air-conditioned spaces (servers), we must prepare Voice-over IP and “cable-free” telephone systems, we must provide extensive Wireless LAN and improve the system reliability. Students must have optimal conditions to work with Notebooks.