New Book Depot of the University of Vienna
Hybrid Timber Construction "Storage of Knowledge" as a New Home for 3 Million Books
Location:
Vienna-Floridsdorf, Austria
Client / Project Owner:
Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft m. b. H. (BIG), Vienna
Architecture & Structural Planning:
Pittino & Ortner Architekturbüro ZT-Gesellschaft m. b. H., Graz
Executing Company:
Steiner Bau GmbH, Heiligeneich
We were commissioned by the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft Vienna to manufacture and assemble wall elements for the new book depot of the University of Vienna in Vienna-Floridsdorf. The work was completed by the end of 2024 after a relatively short construction period – the official opening of the “Storage of Knowledge” took place in early May 2025.
The building was designed by the architectural firm Pittino & Ortner from Graz: A reinforced concrete skeleton and non-load-bearing wooden walls ensure a compact construction despite the demanding architecture – they also allow for a high load capacity and create, supported by a ventilation system, climatically stable conditions. The high degree of prefabrication ensured that the construction could be completed in just 15 months.
The climate-friendly hybrid timber construction, with a net area of 13,000 m², now provides space for over 3 million volumes on a total of 130,000 linear meters of shelving: 109,000 of these are available to the University of Vienna for storing a significant portion of its main library, while the remaining 21,000 will be used by the Vienna University of Technology, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and the Geological Survey of Austria.
Rubner Ober-Grafendorf is responsible for the manufacturing and assembly of non-load-bearing wooden wall elements for this project: 2,510 m² of these wall elements—made from a total of 130 m³ of structural solid wood—were installed, with a thickness of 34 cm.
Some of these walls extend over three floors and protect the books in the event of a fire, in addition to the installed gas extinguishing system, which has a fire protection specification of EI90.
Proximity to nature was not only a major theme in the choice of building materials for this project: the facade and the roof are greened, while the book depot is surrounded by a wildflower meadow and an avenue of 60 trees to promote biodiversity. A photovoltaic system will provide the building with electricity, and geothermal energy with component activation will be used for heating and cooling.
