Extraterrestrial Center

Pavel Ritter

Location: Vienna 18th district

Floor Area:

Laboratories 633 m2

Office 440 m2

Exhibition 180 m2

Cafe 150 m2

Workshop 50 m2

Lecture 90 m2

The task was to design a laboratory for extraterrestrial sample handling and storage, as well as working spaces for researchers and a public facility for outreach work. These three parts are connected through a green space in the middle, which is the heart of the project.

Specific Characteristics:

Public involvement with workshops and lectures

The fact that this center will host the first Mars samples on Earth will generate a huge public interest. Thus, the goal is to involve the public as much as possible without disturbing scientists at work.

The building is located in a park between the institute for astronomy and the institute for meteorology and geophysics in the 18th district of Vienna. Here, students have the opportunity to study this topic further.

Office

The office building is supported by beams and columns, providing functional flexibility of the interior spaces.

In the middle of both floors, next to the stairs, is a shared space, where people can meet spontaniously. A kitchen is located on the first floor.

The offices itself are shared by four to six people and offer enough room for individual work spaces.

Additionally there are two quiet meeting rooms, one on each floor, for quick discussions and presentations as well as another big meeting room in the basement.

Visitors

The public part includes a museum, a café with technical literature and two premises for workshops and lectures.

It is intended to host weekly workshops and talks for guest scientists, students, as well as children and other interested people without specific knowledge about the subject.

First Floor

Section SA

Section SB

Materials

The curtain glass facade is the most important detail of the building. Considering it is located in a park, the transparancy to the public is very important. People are able to see what‘s happening inside, day and night.

The ceilings are made of reinforced concrete, with polished screed on top, while the columns are made of steel.

The surfaces that people are interacting with are made from a warm combination of wood and steel.

Facade Cross-Section

In fact, it‘s not recommended by the experts from NHM Vienna to have daylight or public viewing windows in most parts of the laboratories. They are located in the basement with all the technical support beneath. But scientists are working up to 8 hours a day in there, so daylight.

That‘s why the corridor of the BSL3 has daylight, which is also the connection to the analogue sample curation room. This room and the animal facility have daylight as well, entering through top lights from the ceiling. These top lights are found again above the workshop and the lecture theatre.

The windows, where light is entering to the basement are an additional benefit for the visual relationships between public areas and scientists. While you are sitting in the café you have visual contact to the people working in the facility. Another benefit is the connection to nature and the green space in the center. Also there is a big meeting room beside the laboratory located to the garden, where scientists can have a break or discuss their research activities.