Dezeen Magazine

Library and Learning Centre in Vienna by Zaha Hadid Architects

Cladding panel falls off Zaha Hadid's Vienna library

News: parts of Zaha Hadid Architects' Library and Learning Centre in Vienna have been cordoned off after a piece of concrete cladding fell off.

A chunk of concrete weighing an estimated 80 kilograms fell from the building, located at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, on Friday. Nobody was injured and the building remains open.

However parts of the pedestrian street that runs through the centre of the campus have been closed as a precaution, and areas surrounding the building, including the space beneath the centre's cantilevered upper levels, have been taped off.

This is the second time that parts have fallen from the structure, which opened just over a year ago, according to Die Presse.

The Austrian newspaper reports that a slab of fibre-reinforced concrete measuring 1.2 by 2.5 metres became detached in July last year.

The rectangular slab fell from the inclined facade of the centre, which leans forward at an angle of 35 degrees and features alternating horizontal bands of grey concrete and glass.

Library and Learning Centre in Vienna by Zaha Hadid Architects

The first incident was due to an "assembly error", according to Kurier, which published photos showing the location of the missing panel in July last year.

At the time, the piazza in front of the building was sealed off until the panel was replaced.

The latest incident is being investigated by contractors, who are expected to produce a report by Thursday this week.

The library and learning centre opened in October 2013. It is one of seven buildings that make up a new campus at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) and is designed to accommodate 24,000 students and 1,800 staff.

The 28,000-square-metre structure, located in Vienna's second district, houses the university's main library, plus function rooms and a cafe.

Dezeen contacted Zaha Hadid Architects for a comment, but had not received a reply before publishing this story.

Photography is by Roland Halbe.