Weihenstephan – Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences

The Triesdorf campus of the Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences is home to the faculties of agriculture and environmental engineering. A large part of the building stock is under a preservation order as an ensemble; the rural structures and the historical visual relationships of the baroque park complex characterize the surroundings.

The lecture halls, laboratories, the technical centre and the administrative areas of the faculties of agriculture and environmental engineering were to be further developed by a new building. Since the university’s profile is consistently oriented towards “green” degree programmes, the connection to the exterior played a decisive role.

The solution is a further development of the existing institute building. The new building complex comprises two volumes – a small, separate administrative building north of the campus axis and a much larger faculty building with lecture halls and a laboratory, which was designed as an annexe to the existing building. The building heights, roof shapes and visual axes into the landscape respond very sensitively to the rural surroundings. Existing circulation axes were sensibly complemented, and the design vocabulary of the existing building was taken up. The result is a homogeneous ensemble whose roof shapes, taking inspiration from the faculties of agriculture and environmental engineering, are reminiscent of large greenhouses. Together, the faculty building and the existing building form a new inner courtyard which, as the centre of the complex, creates an appealing space to spend time in.

The interior of the building impresses with its spaciousness. The corridors are wide and welcoming, views and vistas create a relationship between the different levels and between inside and outside. Large-format interior doors with a dark paint finish, oak elements and acoustic ceiling panels in a warm natural shade add highlights.

The design of the annexe was supposed to take up not only the urban reference but also the agricultural character of the surroundings. The wood cladding, which was specially developed by the architects, blends in harmoniously with the rural surroundings. The façade was elaborately designed with ribbon windows and wooden battens in different colours. In the area of the ribbon windows, the wooden battens are dissolved and thus reinforce the character of the ribbon.
All-round aluminium ledges accentuate the window design and form a beautiful contrast to the dark plaster surfaces that mark the entrance areas.