Student Service Center Heinrich-Heine-University

BRIEF: Service center for those studying at the Heinrich Heine University, accommodating the facilities of the department of student affairs, which are used by students from all faculties.

ADDED VALUE: With its spacious roofed entrance area, the SSC gains not only a suitable and easily recognizable home, but at the same time forms an emblematic architectural gateway for the whole university campus.

The light, bright architecture is a continuation of the openness, passability and spatial depth of the surrounding green areas. Beneath a roof held up by slender supports, the piazza extends on the level of the university’s heavily used main axis. By means of a wide flight of outdoor steps it makes a functional connection between the street Universitätsstrasse and the western part of the main university axis, thus providing students and visitors from all directions with an entrance that is protected from the elements. The transparent foyer, flooded with light and looking out onto the park, serves as a central space for communication and a concourse that is also an attractive place to be. The infopoint as the first place to go and the front offices receive those who enter, and for further and more specific consultations pass them on to the other storeys, which can be reached via a broad curving staircase or lifts. Next to the access to the academy of study, students’ secretariat and offices, a multi-purpose space that can be added flexibly adjoins the foyer. During normal hours it provides work spaces for students in a lounge atmosphere; alternatively it can be used for events and exhibitions.

Volume
gfa 3.980m²

Construction volume
13.545m³

Client
BLB NRW

Competition
1st Prize 2011

Realisation
2012 - 2015