Quantum Cube & Campus 2030

The University of Vienna is consistently developing the campus as a diverse location for research, study, and exchange. With the Campus 2030+ project, measures are being implemented step by step to strengthen the campus as a working and learning environment for students and staff, preserve it as a green oasis in an urban space, and make it visible as a place where science and society meet.
 

A central project in this development is the Quantum Cube, which is being built in Courtyard 2 of the campus. This is a new research building for quantum optics, nanophysics, and information. The new building is necessary because highly sensitive experiments can no longer be carried out with precision at the previous location on Währinger Straße/Boltzmanngasse due to traffic influences and the expansion of the U5 subway line. The new laboratory infrastructure is a decisive location factor for quantum research, in which Austria occupies a leading position, as was recently confirmed in impressive fashion by the Nobel Prize awarded to Anton Zeilinger in 2022.

At the same time, the University of Vienna is aware of the challenges posed by a new building on a meadow that has previously been used primarily as a recreational area. Therefore, the focus is on the balanced development of the entire campus. In return for the new sealing in courtyard 2 (approx. 400 m²), other areas on the site will be unsealed and redesigned for the various users on campus. Overall, significantly more area will be unsealed than will be sealed by the new building.

In the centrally located and heavily used Courtyard 1, the complete unsealing of the former outdoor dining area of the pizzeria will create a new open space of around 600 m². Non-commercial green areas and recreation zones are planned there. Student spaces are planned for the former restaurant premises of the pizzeria (or former Uni-Bräu).

The design of the student spaces is based on proven examples at the university (such as Porzellangasse 4 and Währinger Straße 29) and is currently undergoing technical and economic review. The student space is intended to create consumption-free lounge and study areas for students—something that has been lacking on campus until now. A possible extension to include a small, low-threshold kiosk is also being examined.

Other spaces that are becoming available—such as the former Facultas branch at the Spitalgasse/Alser Straße entrance—are earmarked for internal university use: The establishment of centrally managed seminar rooms that can be used for events during the lecture-free period is currently under review.

The University of Vienna's Sustainability Office, located on campus, will also be involved in campus development and will be responsible for raising the profile of the University of Vienna's strategic focus on “climate, environment, and sustainability.”

As part of the further development of the campus infrastructure, there are also plans to relocate the existing porter's lodge from Spitalgasse to a more central location on campus. In future, the porter's lodge will be located in the passageway between Alser Straße 4 and Hof 1 in the former storage areas of the Stiegl Ambulance at the Sonnenfels Gate. The aim is to visibly improve the provision of information on campus: the new location will make the porter's office easier to find for students, staff, and external visitors, and will enable the porter to quickly assist with questions, directions, or concerns. In addition, a central parcel collection point is planned for the same premises.

• The campus is primarily a place of work and study for university members. The further development of the campus will ensure and improve the quality of work (places).
• The campus is a tangible green oasis with a high quality of life and space for biodiversity-friendly design and sustainability measures by the University of Vienna.
• The campus is a place of exchange between the university and society: through open spaces and recreational areas, catering facilities and playgrounds, visibility of the institutes, events and formats such as “Gates of Remembrance” or new exhibition concepts for outdoor spaces.

Key decisions:

• The main use remains with the humanities and cultural studies faculties.
• Own use instead of external use: space that becomes available is used primarily by the university itself.
• Spaces for meeting and communication are at the heart of new usage concepts.