Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences

Reviews of similar buildings from the Vienna office of Dieter Henke and Marta Schreieck have already been reviewed by Honza last year. It was a structure geographically closer to the Czech Republic, three years younger and architecturally more mature. However, in the case of the faculty in Innsbruck, we were additionally treated to a personal introduction of the project by the building's author. Dieter Henke came to Prague as part of a series of accompanying lectures for the exhibition of western Austrian architecture at the Bethlehem Chapel. Right at the beginning, he apologized for the absence of his work and lifelong partner Marta Schreieck, who is currently busy preparing the Austrian pavilion for the IX. Biennale in Venice (the architecture of supermarkets M-Preis - in my opinion, this will be one of the most interesting exhibitions of the upcoming event, for which we will soon provide a detailed report). In his explanation, he made a great effort to describe the surrounding buildings and the environment where the structures are located. He was distinctly disappointed when there was a lack of interaction between his projects and the surroundings. In his design process, he respects the surrounding context but does not strive to imitate it.

Initially, there was an orchard established in 1420 by the regional prince "Heinrich with the empty pocket." Later, it transformed into a romantic garden, and only in 1700 was the greenery made accessible to ordinary citizens. To this day, the Innsbruck "Hofgarten" is an oasis of calm amidst the urban development and Alpine peaks. Over the centuries, numerous representative buildings have arisen on the grounds: the regional theater, congress hall, Hofburg, and to the northeast, a villa district. Defiantly, the ninetieth-century barracks building closed off the southern access to the gardens. Fortunately, the military unit was soon reassigned and the block was demolished. The construction development in the center of Innsbruck is basically completed. This makes the gaping hole all the more painful, and greater importance is placed on a potential and necessary patch.
When the new Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences (SOWI) was opened in March 1999 at the southern edge of the court gardens, the city could rightly assume that the possibilities of the new building would be fully utilized. The faculty, with a high reputation, seven thousand students, and sixteen institutes, finally obtained a building of appropriate scope, as they had previously been fragmented across ten locations throughout the city.
Almost in haste and unfinished, the new university building received the provincial award Tiroler Landespreis for 1998. Architects Henke and Schreieck from Vienna managed to insert an impressively large mass into the historical core of the city, which calms the surroundings with its inconspicuousness and stands on its cultivated policy. "Fill the gap and yet respond openly and intelligently to the surrounding squares and streets," the architects formulated in response to the client's wish for a "city university."
The building found in Manfried Gantner (financial scientist) a passionate builder and tireless patron on the university's side. Through several election periods and ministerial officials, he promoted the project against civic movements aimed at preserving the stagnant barracks. He supported the idea throughout urban, organizational debates, and the economic interconnections of the faculty. For Gantner, it was a fulfillment when the construction costs were formally approved.
The first idea for developing the former barracks site into a luxury hotel failed due to the lack of an investor. Then nothing stood in the way of the university; in 1989, Marta Schreick and Dieter Henke won the public two-round competition. Their proposal, like many other participants’ entries, did not have the main volume oriented parallel to the Hofgarten, but across, incorporating a pavilion-like structure. After revision, an L-shape was created with a 180m long glass arm. The second supporting element of the design is the extension of the listed garden wall, which intersects the ground floor of the building as a large arch. The concrete strip was to be transformed inside into a ramp that, like a footbridge, penetrated the protected university area (such an Innsbruck chiasma, translator's note). In the end, only the bent wall was realized, which appears like a cut edge in the large-glassed foyer. This is only one weak point that is easily overshadowed by the strength of the overall spatial effect.
The curved wall divides the university forecourt into a calm and public courtyard. From the rectangular structure, an amoebic shape of the library emerges. Its soft shapes wrap around the rigid aluminum slats that shade the glass body. From the section, it is easy to see how the mass widens in a funnel shape, and the floor area increases moving upwards. Light streams inside through the glass roof, and all rooms in this part offer a view of the mountains.
The generous central space of the university opens to a cascading staircase. In front of retractable walls, glass staircases, and floating landings, every path equals an ascent to the stage. Strips of light from light-conductive tubes accentuate the strict geometry of the interior space, in which the main lines of the building are outlined.
The qualities of the spatial concept will be demonstrated by the building only during its use. As promised in a ten-year-old design, it has indeed established itself strongly in the urban space. Only where the architects relied on the then trendiness of glass architecture, are there weak points: the pointed roof that was placed onto the building seems to want to pay even greater respect to the surrounding structures. This can be criticized, but it can also be praised. The new university is an important milestone for a city long starved for quality, which has been waiting for vibrant new architecture for a long time.