Ágnes-Heller-Haus

At the Ágnes Heller House, institutes of the Faculty of Humanities, Cultural Studies, and Educational Sciences that were previously scattered across different locations are now brought together under one roof. Hans-Peter Weiss, CEO of the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG):

“The Ágnes Heller House holds special significance for the Innrain Campus and academic life in Innsbruck. It completes the campus as a cohesive unit and, through a campus lawn and a distinctive tower, creates a strong connection to the urban space. The compact design minimizes land use and ensures energy-efficient operation — heating and cooling are provided via building component activation, while a photovoltaic system generates electricity.”

The ventilation systems are equipped with heat recovery technology. The 13,000 m² reinforced concrete building was developed by the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft, serving as both client and property owner. It consists of two underground and five above-ground floors, forming a terrace at the base. Facing the street, another five upper floors rise to form a tower that clearly positions the building within the urban context. The entrance area serves as an architectural reference to the arcades of Innsbruck’s Old Town.

The largest arch, which also serves as the main entrance, is an art-in-architecture project by Peter Sandbichler, entitled Portal, selected as the winning project from a BIG ART competition. Through this sculptural entrance made of precast concrete elements, visitors enter a light-flooded atrium with free-spanning staircases. The custom-designed railings further enhance the spatial experience. The atrium also provides daylight to the interior rooms.

The Ágnes Heller House is a particularly robust building; its floor plan is designed to allow existing spaces to be repurposed, thereby extending the building’s life cycle. Architect Günter Mohr (mohr niklas architekten) aimed from the beginning to design a compact, urban structure that transfers and concentrates the life of the city within:

“By compressing the building volume, we succeeded in creating new green space that extends all the way to the River Inn, contributing to valuable inner-city quality.”

The house is named after the Hungarian philosopher Ágnes Heller, who was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Innsbruck in 2015 and passed away in the summer of 2019. Born in Budapest in 1929, Heller survived the Nazi terror in Hungary as the child of Jewish parents. The new building on Innrain is thus the first university building named after a woman in Innsbruck.

© Text: Gisela Gary; Z+B Magazine; translated