Project Information

Schedule

The main library of the University of Vienna will be renovated from January 2025 to spring 2027.

Urgent fire protection measures are required in the building, and the relocation of the book collections from the stacks to the new depot is also necessary for reasons of space and conservation.

The remodelling will enable the library to better meet modern requirements:

• Twice as many study and workstations for users
• Mixture of study and break zones
• Group and individual workstations

Improved accessibility of the library:

• Main entrance to the library on Reichratsstraße
• Access via the arcade courtyard
• Additional entrances on all floors

The large reading room will remain unchanged in its historical appearance. It will remain closed from 23 September 2024 due to preparatory work for the relocation of books.

The books will be moved to the newly built Floridsdorf book depot, where almost 3 million volumes of the Vienna University Library will be stored on around 13,000 square metres. The books can be optimally stored and preserved in the new depot in air-conditioned rooms.

From the Press Release

The Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft will renovate, modernize, and bring the main library of the University of Vienna on the Ring up to the latest energy standards. From 2027, students will find a well-structured and inviting library with sufficient seating and pleasant indoor climate. The new main library will accommodate more than twice as many users.

Minister of Science Martin Polaschek:

Through the new main library, we offer even more students space for reading and learning. Libraries are not only repositories of knowledge but also spaces for thought for young and old alike. In addition to the expanded seating capacity, the listed library will receive a modern touch: through targeted technical measures in terms of energy efficiency. Thus, we create sustainable space for knowledge in the historic halls of one of Europe's oldest universities in the heart of the university city of Vienna.

Hans-Peter Weiss, CEO of the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft:

The renovation of the library wing is the next important step in the modernization of the main building of the University of Vienna. Outdated spatial structures are being rethought, enabling us to provide twice as many workspaces for students in the future as before. Overall, the library wing will be more user-friendly and energy-efficient in operation.

Vice-Rector Nikolaus Hautsch:

The university should be a place where students feel comfortable and where they can study well. The renewal of the university library will make a significant contribution to this.

The spatial structures of the 7,600 m² library wing will be modernized and more clearly structured. Historical ceiling paintings will be examined to restore their original condition. The lending section will be centrally located and become an easily accessible hub for users - up to 1,000 books will be delivered, prepared, and borrowed daily. All areas will be accessible without barriers; on several floors, there will be connections between the left and right halves of the building to create shorter routes.

In addition to various student and learning zones, there will also be seminar rooms, which will be used, among others, by the library and the Center for Teaching and Learning of the University of Vienna to support students with tailored training offers in their studies. The different noise level areas will be separated from each other. Exhibition and event zones as well as seminar rooms under the historic glass roofs of the book towers complete the range of spaces.

• More information from the initial press release of the University of Vienna