The WU Executive Academy is located in the EA building at the west entrance of Campus WU, right next to the entrance of the Messe Wien exhibition grounds and the U2 subway station Messe-Prater. The building was designed by Spanish architects NO.MAD Arquitectos, Madrid.
The EA building is a compact seven-story tower based on a mono-material design principle. The outer façade is made of glass and aluminum. Different degrees of transparency, from opaque to completely translucent, reflect the sky and the surrounding greenery, integrating the building perfectly into its environment. The upper levels offer spectacular views of Vienna’s city center and the nearby Prater Park. The pattern of the windows appears random, but actually follows a specific algorithm.
The building is divided into three functional areas: Four levels house openplan offices, and the upper levels serve as teaching and self-study areas for WU Executive Academy students. The ground floor includes a multi-purpose event venue that can be partitioned with flexible dividers and adapted to suit all kinds of events. The EA building also features a café with spacious outdoor seating on the ground floor and
a restaurant and bar on the roof level. Both the café and the restaurant are open to the public.
The overall mono-material concept based on aluminum and glass is carried over into the interior of the EA building. Floors, wall paneling, and lighting elements throughout the building reflect this uniform design. Contrasting accents provided by additional materials, colors, and design elements highlight only a few selected areas.
The core of the building houses the elevators and utility installations and forms a constant central element with a reflecting surface around which all other rooms are grouped. Untreated, seamless surfaces such as polished concrete floors and raw cement walls characterize the interior, while carpets and curtains provide warm accents in the office, teaching, lounge, and waiting areas. Heavy curtains are used for noise reduction.
- Exteriors
- Photography Architecture