University Center STU

Project idea

The first goal of the project is combining the university life of students, professors, researchers, STU employers, professional experts of faculties of University STU, creating a meeting point "Heart of the University of STU" where various university or faculty events can be held. To create a representative and conference rooms for the university. Create quality conditions for studying and contribute to improving university facilities. To build a technical library as a repository of a large amount of technical information that is an indispensable part of the deepening of the knowledge of students, researchers, professional experts and professors and other users of the library. Another goal is to recover the existing greenery and provide spaces for relaxation and gathering where users can spend their free time between classes. Student life must become more attractive with an appropriate level of facilities for the greatest university in Slovakia. Another aim is to strategically connect the surrounding buildings and public spaces. Create a catering facility for university students and staff. Contribute to improving the visibility of student’s and teacher’s works and their activities at faculties, thereby contributing to provide higher motivation to students for knowledge, information and events at the university. Resolve the issue of parking for university staff and partially cover parking needs in the area.

Project description

Since the building is located in a very restrictive area, the layout must be optimized for the surrounding conditions. Its function is based on its position in the built-up area. The building is located inside of internal courtyard of the STU faculties, which requires a well-thought connection among the faculties and create between the faculty relations, meeting points, university representation space, space for deepening of knowledge and a relaxation zone for university staff and students and other users of the building.
The building is accessible from 4 main entrances. The main opinion-forming entrance to the STU University Center is from Námestie Slobody through the vestibule of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, where a roofed passage will be added as the entrance to the university center. Another entrance to the university center will lead from the old building of the Faculty of Chemistry, which will run above the lecture hall building and align with the main compositional axis leading from Kollár Square, to the university center as a “connection bridge”. Another entrance would lead through the existing entrance on the northwestern part to the university courtyard. This entrance serves students of the Faculty of Architecture and FEI and FIIT from the public transport stop, which is right next to the entrance to the courtyard. The next entrance is from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, which will connect to the main compositional axis.
The layout of the first floor is easy to read. All the entrances lead to the main entrance area, which is considered as a corridor with a representative function. There is a representative double spiral staircase that leads to the second floor. This space serves not only as an entrance space but also as an exhibition space. There is an information point behind the staircase in the entrance hall. On the southwest side of the building, there is a cloakroom on the southeast side is a bookstore. In the middle of the layout, there are two conference rooms, which can be connected with a sliding partition if necessary. There is a dining room with a kitchen and a canteen service. Space can be opened between the conference rooms and the dining room with sliding partitions, thus creating a large space for representational purposes. In the northern part, there is the administrative part of the library with its hygienic areas and areas for the return of books. In the administrative part, there are elevators for direct connection to the library and its storage rooms on the first underground floor. There is a communication staircase for employees. The cafeteria is located in the south wing of the building, which can be reached through the exhibition space.
There are 6 staircases, of which two are fire marshal stairs and 4 elevators. There are four staircases on the peripheral parts of the layout together with sanitary facilities for women, men and the disabled and rooms for a cleaning lady and two stairs in the middle. They create the 4 cores of the building. The layout of the space is very flexible and open for future modification. The corridors are located on the perimeter of the building and allow visual contact with the surroundings. That’s why there is still noticeable movement in the building – THE LIFE and the building evoke the "Heart of the University". The corridors will serve as an exhibition space and a space for the presentation of the work of students and teachers, thus ensuring greater awareness of what is happening at the university and faculties.
The second floor is offset by two meters inwards, creating an open space across the two floors not only in the entrance hall, but also around the perimeter of the building. There is the entrance and checkpoint to the library and the library itself with places for readers and free choice. To the north of the building is the building's administration, with a workstation for the library director, a secretariat, a methodological cabinet with a meeting room and a kitchen for staff. On the first floor of the library there is a section for readers of periodicals and technical journals and a library catalog. In the next part there is a free choice with reading and study places. In the northern part of the library space, where it connects with the administrative part, there is a part for loans, consulting services and library service.
On the third floor, the layout of the library extends till the facade. There are checkpoints at the entrances to the library. On the south side of the floor, there is a café bar and a relaxation/meeting room and the possibility of an entrance to the terrace, which gradually decreases to the level of the ground floor. In the middle of the layout, there is a library with a free choice and reading places on the perimeter of the floor due to natural illumination. The library has two IT centers with a capacity of 2x17 seats.

The rooms are equipped with a projector and a blackboard and can also serve as training IT - classrooms. In the northern part there is an administration. On the outskirts of the north part of the building there are study rooms with a projector used for team works.
On the fourth floor, the floor plan in the southern part is reduced. As mentioned above, in the southern part of the building, there is a café and a rest area, and in the middle of the layout is held for library and IT centres. In the northern part, the capacity of study rooms is increasing and the administrative part is decreasing. In the southern part there is a kitchen with a washbasin for users of the builing with the possibility to go out on the sunny south terrace.
On the roof there are two glazed semicircular elevator shafts. The roof is designed as a recreation area with various activities for students. It is a designed paved walking area around the skylight in the middle of the layout with views of Bratislava Castle, Slavín monument, Kamzík TV tower. In the northern part of the roof plan there is a textile hyperbolic roof, which provide shadows during the summer season. There is the furniture for relaxation (benches, deck chairs) There is also a sports area 20 m x 15 m with basketball hoops fenced with steel mesh. The rest of the roof is designed as a green vegetation roof.
The first underground floor serves as a book warehouses (compact shelves) and the administrative part of the library. Technical rooms of the air conditioning engine room and rooms providing fire safety (sprinkler water tank and power plant), and parking with access from the new FCHPT building and a ramp from the SjF. This floor is largely under the ground, but the eastern part of the parking lot is open-air, and thus part of the floor is naturally ventilated and lit on.
The second underground floor, the capacity of parking spaces is being expanded. There are also technical rooms. The entrance of the cars to this floor is secured by a one-way ramp from the FCHPT faculty and a ramp in the southern part of the floor plan. There is also a ramp that leads to part of the warehouses of the FCHPT faculty. This floor is also partially lit and ventilated naturally from the east side.

Technical information

Materials
Despite its scope, the building has a compact exterior design. The load-bearing system of the building is a reinforced concrete skeleton, which is clad around the perimeter with a light steel glazed perimeter cladding. Some surfaces of the peripheral shell are replaced by shielding surfaces. Facade profiles and elements are designed in white colour.


Ventilation and lighting
Regarding to the low-energy concept, the building air conditioning system counts with a recuperation unit, which uses the heat of “exhausted“ air and transfers it to the clean air supplied to the building, while giving the heat to the clean air. The building also uses natural ventilation. Air exchange is ensured through opening structures in a light perimeter cladding, through which fresh air is supplied to the interior. Warm air rises through the interior void of floor slabs in the central part of the floor plan and is vented to the exterior through the opening parts in the skylight on the roof.
Natural lighting is solved through the glass facade and roof skylight, which allows the passage of light into the interior to the second floor. Facade profiles and opaque elements of the perimeter cladding are designed to prevent the building from overheating.


Design solution

Foundation structures
The foundation structures are made of reinforced concrete piles, the design of which is based on a geological survey and the bearing capacity of the soil, but also on the base of the structure and the function of the structure, which transfers large loads to the ground.

Main structure system
The load-bearing system in the university center building is designed as a reinforced concrete skeleton in a 12-meter network in both directions of the columns with a circular diameter of 500 mm and rounded capitals. The building is dilated in the middle due to its size, but also a change in the construction system in the garage in the eastern part of the building. The supporting system in the parking area is solved in a network of 7.5 meters in both directions with columns of rectangular cross-section 500x250 mm. In the peripheral parts of the layout, 4 reinforced concrete cores are designed, which have the function of taking over the horizontal loads of the wind and seismicity.
Ceiling structures are designed as prestressed reinforced concrete structures 400 mm thick.

Roof structure
The roof structure is designed partly as a vegetation walking roof with extensive greenery (grassed area), partly as a walking roof with tiles laid on targets and partly as a sports area with dimensions of 20 m x 15 m with basketball hoops.

Horizontal non - loading structures
On the first floor, the structures around the dining room and cafeteria are designed as glazed walls, in the conference rooms as translucent walls. The partitions between the conference rooms are mobile as well as the partitions that divide the dining room and the conference rooms on the ground floor. Between the hygienic rooms there are light mounted partitions, between the sanitary facilities there are partitions made of chipboard material with a melamine surface.
Perimeter facade is designed as a light perimeter cladding with alternating glazed surfaces and opaque surfaces. It is anchored by a vertical steel plinth to the ceiling structure.

Documentation

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