Jesper Bork is a Danish architect working in Copenhagen and Vienna.

He studied architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna as well as the Institute of Architecture & Design at Aalborg University where he graduated in 2005.

Jesper joined Wolfgang Tschapeller Architects in 2005 and since then he played a key role in the studio’s development into an internationally recognized and award-winning practice. He was the lead architect of several prize winning projects including the extension of the University of Applied Arts and the Hotel Schwarzenberg in Vienna, the European Cultural Center in Aachen as well as the Centre for Promotion of Science in Belgrade. Furthermore he developed the detail design and oversaw the construction of the St. Joseph House, which was nominated for the Wallpaper Design Award in 2009.

Before studying architecture Jesper worked as a movie set maker in Melbourne, Australia. During his architectural studies he joined Coop Himmelb(l)au where he was part of the team developing the House of Music in Aalborg and the High School No. 9 in Los Angeles. 

Client: Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft mbH

The University of Applied Arts is located together with the Museum of Applied Arts on the Vienna Ringstrasse. The brief for this project aimed to restore and extend the University of Applied Arts and create a considerable additional area on the very limited plot between the two existing buildings.

These two buildings (the Ferstel building from 1877 and the Schwanzer/Wörle building from 1965) are currently linked together with a double story link building. The two buildings are in their essence autonomous objects standing in critical and productive distance to each other. Such a reading is re-proposed in our project. Consequently we propose to demolish the link building and reconstruct those parts of the existing buildings which were destroyed by the insertion of the link building. 

In order to reconnect the two buildings below grade a common functional base, containing lecture halls, workshops and storage spaces, is proposed.

The repetitiveness of the Schwanzer/Wörle building is intriguing. The building consists in essence of a series of columns and slabs. By taking out stairs and elevator cores and by repositioning those in front of the serial structure of the Schwanzer/Wörle building a full flexibility on the entire floor slab as well as a remarkable gain of usable floor area are achieved. The removal of stair and elevator cores displays a pure serial structure. What remains are solely columns and slabs, ready for multiple functional readings. The shelf like structure will house the studios.

Three main elements are linking the ensemble. Together these elements establish the new campus of the university: Firstly, the interior square connects the two existing buildings below grade. Secondly, the garden above connects the buildings of the university with those of the museum, and thirdly the Broadway stair runs diagonally across the elevation of the Schwanzer/Wörle building. The stair is not only a means of circulation; it is the platform where members and knowledge of the 17 different studios meet. It is the informal marketplace for cross disciplinary projects. The entire space in front of the Schwanzer/Wörle building is enclosed in a transparent membrane hanging off the existing structure.

On the roof of the university two temporary structures are proposed. Two pneumatic balloons indicate special occasions at the university to the surrounding city. 

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