BUDAPEST, September 28, 2011 – Christoph Müller, a fifth year student at the Technical University in Vienna, is the winner of the first semester 2011 ArchitectsJury competition. Designed with Archicad, his design of a biotechnology facility was chosen by his student peers from among hundreds of submissions in the semi-annual online competition.
According to Müller, although biotechnology is a well-developed field in Central Europe, the laws governing biotechnology research are very stringent and the population tends to be prejudiced against genetic modification. In order to overcome these prejudices, Müller set out to design an open, public space that would also serve as an information center, a market place, and a museum. “My goal was to create a design that functions like an organism made up of a modular system of ‘cells’, limited only by the boundaries of the building site,” Müller said. “Each ‘cell’ has its own function, which is adaptable and changeable,” he continued.
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| © Christoph Müller |
The building is exposed from above using light wells, allowing natural light into the space. As a result, it can be extended as far as the boundaries of the lot dimensions allow. Deep ‘cuts’ in the skin of the façade make it possible to look not only at the buildings directly across the street, but into the street and along the rails as well. To make this space as flexible as possible, the laboratory above is held only by four staircase-columns. To allow for the maximum deviation of 35 meters and to transfer the weight to the ground, the diameters of the staircase-columns increase as they near the top.
About Christoph Müller
“I am originally from Zwiesel in Bavaria. I started studying architecture at FH-Erfurt in Germany, and then transferred to the Technical University of Vienna, Austria. During this time, I had the opportunity to work for several offices and gained extensive knowledge through my various work experiences. I am currently a tutor at the Institute of Architectural Theory at the Technical University in Vienna. My master’s thesis will be completed in 2012.”
About ArchitectsJURY
The ArchitectsJURY competition is aimed at finding the best architectural student work, as judged by visitors to www.ArchitectsJURY.com, the student architecture community. For more images of the winning project, please visit www.architectsjury.com/pages/competition/2011-spring-semester/winners. To learn about the 2011 Fall ArchitectsJURY competition, visit www.architectsjury.com/pages/competition/2011-fall-semester/.