In January of 2016, Berger+Parkkinen Architects were commissioned to plan a new building for Paracelsus Medical Private University (PMU) in Salzburg. The site, which previously housed a printing plant, reaches up to an elevated railway embankment. The new building responds to the north-south oriented volumes of its surroundings, fitting into its context in terms of scale. Meanwhile, the deliberately staggered arrangement of the buildings results in different spatial sequences and views.
The concept of the laboratories and institute rooms comes as a continuation of institute building House C on the opposite side of the street, which was also designed and completed by Berger+Parkkinen. A particular challenge was the question of how to interpret or accommodate the undulating mirrored soffits of the cantilevered structures of House C and three of its sister buildings.
The architects found that the answer was to adopt not the form but the concept of a semi-public plinth floor. In the public utility area, the transparent plinth buildings contrast with the closed upper floors. The landscape and public space seem to penetrate the houses.
This idea of a semi-public plinth floor is carried over to House D with the urban typology of a large columned hall, surrounded by glass walls and with an amphitheater at the heart of the space. Massive arches and pillars span the entire ground floor, connecting the various areas of the auditorium, seminar rooms, foyer, and staircases.
Typologically, the ground floor resembles a three-aisled 'basilica', whereby the western row of columns does not stand under the façade, but indentedly follows the sloping line of the old basic boundary. Thus the entrance hall takes on a conical shape, with a series of different arches. The conical shape of the cantilever to the forecourt is also created. This small slant opens up the strict system of pillars, thus creating a formal connection to the architecture of House C. This dynamic is particularly emphasized by double-high arches in the area of the staircases, which make the transition from the plinth to the floors readable from the outside.
Throughout, the building aims to achieve the highest ecological principles. This includes the use of traditional plastering techniques with multi-layer thick plaster on mineral wool insulation, with a high-quality waterglass-based paint finish. The slightly irregular structure resulting from the handicraft production, combined with the application of paint, gives the façade volume and an obvious similarity with the traditional house façades of the area. Only the statically necessary structure is built unalterable, whereas all partition walls and room layouts are designed flexibly in order to be able to offer space for later changes of use.
In terms of landscape, long strips of grass flank the building. The forest garden to the south is based on the existing garden of the villa and forms a high and dense green conclusion of the PMU area opposite the elevated railway line.
