Bildungscampus Friedrich Fexer Wien
The core idea of this project is to combine a durable structural framework with adaptable furnishing elements. In 30 years, the building could be converted into a senior residence with minimal effort —something made possible by the principle of “framework and filling.”
Located in an urban expansion area on the city’s periphery, the education campus provides space for around 800 children on three stories. The ground floor accommodates a nursery for little ones with its own garden, a branch of the municipal music school, and an events hall. The two upper floors house the learning spaces for the primary school and the kindergarten. Unlike other Vienna campus models, the typical middle school component is absent from this site’s spatial program, as an existing school of that type is located directly opposite.
Four primary school classrooms and two kindergarten group rooms are each combined into an educational unit, referred to in Vienna’s school system as a BIBER. What makes the Attemsgasse BIBERs special is that the kindergarten and primary school share a continuous community zone—the multifunctional zone (MUFU)—where the institutions merge seamlessly with one another. Older children working alongside younger ones is not just an aspiration here, but daily practice. This model, known as “Campus Plus,” is being applied to all new campus locations in Vienna.
The spatial interweaving of institutions with such different requirements is naturally a challenge, given the differing legal and safety regulations for schools and kindergartens. The open spatial structures with large windows facilitate an overview and convey a sense of shared accountability. Ideally, all educators here feel responsible for all children. To bring daylight into the deep building volume, two small greened atria are incised into each BIBER, also improving orientation in each BIBER’s branching network of paths. In this school there are no hallways in the conventional sense: Instead, floor markings indicate which areas must remain free of furniture as emergency exits. During afternoon “free time,” when the BIBERs offer diverse activities that children can sign up for according to their interests, the entire school is often used, with numerous activity stations connected by the spacious central hall with staircase and elevators.
The educators are aware that they are able to create an extraordinary and richly layered learning environment here. A practical shortcoming, however, is the absence of dedicated water connections in the classrooms. Sinks in the MUFUs are a supplement, but do not fully replace the need for full connections.
That the school was realized as a PPP model is evident in some of the rougher details, such as the balcony railings. At the same time, the exposed ceiling services align well with the idea of an open, flexible framework that users can adapt to their needs. There’s no need to fear rain or cold, though: The scaffolding is only open at its outermost, three-meter-deep zone, where balconies enable outdoor learning, planter boxes invite small-scale gardening, and external staircases provide quick access to the school garden. The resemblance to the downtown IKEA at Vienna’s Westbahnhof is no coincidence; the same architects applied the same framework-and-filling concept there on a larger scale.
[ Friedrich Fexer Kindergarten and Primary School, Attemsgasse, Vienna ] Architecture: querkraft architects zt gmbh. Implementation planning: skyline architekten ZT GmbH. Client: Stadt Wien. Structural engineering: FCP Fritsch, Chiari & Partner ZT GmbH. Landscape architecture: korbwurf landschaftsarchitektur. Procurement procedure: Open, two‑stage design competition with implementation (above EU threshold). Planning and construction period: 2014–2017. Usable floor area: 7 500 m². Address: Attemsgasse 22, 1220 Vienna.