georges batzios unifies agricultural college in austria with terraces

raumberg 38 overlooks a valley in austria’s sytria

Raumberg 38 is an important agricultural college in Austria, located in one of the most beautiful valleys in Styria. Over time, its successful educational path has created the need for additional facilities. Unfortunately, these new buildings have created a heterogeneous campus. The historic building is now surrounded by extensions that do not appear to be connected. Georges Batzios Architects’ proposal takes this competition as an opportunity to improve this heterogeneous situation by creating a unified campus, both in terms of function and aesthetics. To this end, the team has used the features of the original historic building. However, their aim is not to copy the features of the historic building, but to translate them into a contemporary form that focuses on a sustainable design that would lead the school into a new era. ‘We believe that education is first and foremost a matter of cognitive interaction and not just a matter of academic knowledge,’ they share.

The project proposes a plethora of public spaces that serve as incubators for interactive knowledge and scientific wisdom, divided into two interconnected units. The first unit is the Pyramid of Academic Knowledge. It contains all the necessary, fully air-conditioned classrooms, workshops, administrative offices and the rear part of our spaces required for the functioning of an educational structure. The second unit is called the Attic of cognitive interaction. It is a unified semi-conditioned public space that develops between the aforementioned pyramid and the roof of the building in a series of stepped terraces.

all images courtesy of Georges Batzios Architects

georges batzios unifies a campus split across various levels

By creating a multi-level break area, the team at Georges Batzios Architects brings the different departments together in the most effective and organic way possible. This lively student hive provides the opportunity to organize educational niches and student meetings and is partially air-conditioned, creating a gradual thermal transition from the outside climate conditions to the interior that emphasizes the connection between nature and the HBLFA curriculum. On each level, classrooms are aligned with the facade glazing to allow for natural lighting and expansive, unobstructed views of the mountains. At the center of each department, all ancillary spaces are grouped together and open visually to the circulation, turning the teaching materials and workshop equipment into valuable exhibits.

The connection to the existing buildings is established both morphological and functional. The roof of the existing workshops becomes a hydroponic tower garden connected to the new building by a special elevator. The different levels of the building are connected by a main fireproof vertical core and two elevators strategically positioned at the heart of the new structure. The volume of the building allows a direct connection to the surrounding landscape and to the terraces of the lower floors. The interior partitioning system ranges from completely closed conventional walls to semi — or fully transparent glass partitions, depending on requirements.

Raumberg 38 is located in one of the most beautiful valleys in Styria

a transparent educational organism

The basic intention of Georges Batzios Architects’ design is to create a transparent educational organism that promotes communication between students and teachers, social relations, and stimulates environmental awareness. The structural design is focused on providing buildable, material and cost-effective solutions. Any complexity is focused only on high-value aspects of the project, such as the elegant timber roof, which allows for a long-span roof structure that is lightweight, materially efficient, and offers biophilic benefits to building occupants through its connection to nature. In addition, a material-efficient concept minimizes the embodied carbon of the building. A thorough constructability review was also undertaken alongside the design, using materials commonly used in the region and standardized grids to optimize the potential for off-site fabrication or kit.

Georges Batzios Architects unifies the historic building surrounded by extensions that do not appear to be connected.

the project proposes a plethora of public spaces that serve as incubators for interactive knowledge

a unified semi-conditioned public space in a series of stepped terraces

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project info:

name: Raumberg 38
architect: Georges Batzios Architects | @georgesbatziosarchitects

structural engineer, environmental design, MEP: Buro Happold | @buro_happold

location: Raumberg, Austria

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