In 2017, the Viennese architectural office mohr niklas architekten won the tender for the realization competition for a new multifunctional building for Uni Innsbruck. By the end of 2023, the Ágnes-Heller-Haus will be operational. Spanning around 13,000 m², the building will house an auditorium with 600 seats offering a view of the Nordkette, a large lecture hall with 200 seats, a museum, a public cafeteria, a library, offices, seminar rooms, as well as reading and study areas.
The architects state that the structure brings together institutions that were previously scattered across the city, consolidating them in one central location. The design, characterized by its openness and spacious green areas, aims to redefine the campus concept around the main university established in 1924. In the evenings, the area around the Inn becomes a vibrant hub for young people.
The Ágnes Heller House represents a new urban focal point amidst the cityscape. The building’s design takes inspiration from Innsbruck arcades and serves as a link between the small-scale nature of its uses and the city’s grandeur. The spacious atrium within the building facilitates visual connections between different usage zones and levels. The offices face outward, providing panoramic views of the city, while student learning spaces are concentrated inward.
Artist Peter Sandbichler’s “Portal” installation at the Ágnes Heller House serves as an inviting artistic gesture. The sculptural intervention, spanning 120 m², references the “Parquet Deformation” concept by physicist Douglas R. Hofstadter, exploring the relationship between seeing and perceiving as fundamental to scientific thinking.