PROJECT DETAILS
New ORF Media Campus realised with Innovative Façade Solution made from Recycled End-of-Life Aluminium by WICONA
A new media campus for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) has been built in Vienna. Designed by Riepl Kaufmann Bammer Architektur (Vienna), the ensemble of buildings impresses not only with its open and transparent architecture but also with its consistent commitment to sustainable construction. A major contribution to energy savings and the reduction of the carbon footprint is made by WICONA’s innovative WICTEC Modul Air closed cavity façade – made from recycled end-of-life aluminium.
A Future-Proof Expansion of a “City within the City”
The ORF’s main headquarters were established in the 1960s on the expansive Küniglberg site, based on designs by the Austrian architectural icon Roland Rainer. Over the decades, this area – which has grown into a "city within the city" – has undergone continuous transformation and expansion. Following the demolition of a now redundant workshop hall, a new media campus is currently being built in the north-western area. It will include new buildings for Radio Österreich 1, Hitradio Ö3, and a multimedia newsroom. As a key part of the journalistic infrastructure, the new media campus will bring together media production and office work in one place, creating the spatial and technological conditions for ORF’s future development. The three-part building ensemble reflects the horizontal structure of its surroundings, harmoniously integrating into the existing urban environment.
Transparency and openness for the Working World of Tomorrow
The core idea behind the architectural concept by Riepl Kaufmann Bammer Architektur is openness. The new buildings are designed as steel structures with the highest possible proportion of transparent surfaces – allowing a seamless transition between indoors and outdoors. Lead architect Paul Jung explains: “Openness and transparency are fundamental qualities for a media organisation and are consistently reflected throughout the building’s architecture. Our design brings spaces to life and fosters a positive atmosphere. The structural mass recedes into the background, while open areas define the appearance.” As a result, the new production and office buildings are characterised by abundant natural daylight, generous open spaces and flexible areas. Furthermore, employees have direct access from their workplaces to the outdoors at any time – creating a future-ready work environment for all staff.
Innovative and Sustainable Building Envelope
To meet the high demands for a productive indoor climate and maximum visual comfort at the workplaces, the architects chose the WICTEC Modul Air closed cavity façade system. This prefabricated double-skin unitised façade system – with dimensions of 2.5 x 3.5 m – features an external protective screen and an insulated inner façade. The cavity between the two skins is sealed from the external environment and continuously flushed with clean, dry air, regulated by a central technical system and monitored around the clock. This ensures complete freedom from condensation between the panes. The sun-shading system integrated within the cavity can be individually adjusted to suit varying requirements and is protected from weather and dirt – which also significantly reduces cleaning effort. The closed cavity façade, developed by MBM Metallbau Mörtl (Carinthia) in close cooperation with WICONA, also delivers excellent energy efficiency and comfort. It achieves an outstanding thermal insulation value of Ucw < 0.75 W/m²K and excellent sound insulation of Rw > 45 dB. The use of high-quality white glass ensures that large amounts of natural, neutral daylight penetrate deep into the interior spaces.
Recycled Aluminium to Reduce Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions
The façade solution by WICONA is also remarkable for its sustainability. All components are made from Hydro CIRCAL, an especially eco-friendly aluminium alloy with a market-leading recycled content of at least 75% end-of-life (EoL) aluminium. This means the aluminium used previously existed in building elements such as windows or other aluminium products and has been returned to the production cycle after extensive reprocessing. Jörg Meiche, Sales Manager at Hydro Building Systems Austria, explains: “Hydro CIRCAL requires only 5% of the energy needed for primary aluminium production – without compromising on quality. Moreover, Hydro CIRCAL has one of the lowest carbon footprints worldwide, at just 2.3 kg of CO2 per kilogram of aluminium. That’s 4.5 times lower than the global average for primary aluminium.” Specifically, for the WICONA façade used at the ORF media campus, this means that compared to a conventional façade made from newly produced European aluminium, 418,000 kWh of electricity and around 180,000 kg of CO2 can be saved over the full production process – an impressive contribution to sustainability and climate protection.
