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Art Façade

The CeMM building was designed by architect Ernst Kopper who created a structure full of light with much open space for the needs and comfort of modern molecular biology laboratories as well as room to house sophisticated high-tech scientific equipment. The eastern side of the building is adorned by a stunning glass façade, designed by Austrian multi-media artist Peter Kogler. It's versatile appearance makes it stand out in sharp contrast to the neighbouring buildings of the Medical University of Vienna, which were built around the turn of the last century, and the adjacent looming towers of the Vienna General Hospital.

We are grateful to artist Peter Kogler, who has designed the CeMM glass façade. The design was inspired by some of the topics that are studied at the institute, namely networks of molecules and cells, and is symbolizing a new transparent partnership between medical research and society.

However, the façade deliberately does not attempt to reproduce a particular network. It is rather a model of a possible, theoretical biological network, ranging from the microscopic to the macroscopic and even organism scale. Assembly of the 400m2 glass façade took 12 months, and its completion was celebrated in a style to match the grand design. Because of its location, the façade can be seen by hospital visitors, patients, staff and students, amounting to many thousands of spectators each year, and will likely become a city landmark. 

We thank the following sponsors who helped us realize this project:

Gustav Ammerer
Bernd and Christa Binder
Christoph Binder
Max and Margaret Birnstiel
Martin and Lucrezia Böhm
Erhard Busek
Meinrad and Irene Busslinger
Georg and Maria Rita Casari
Helmut and Helga Denk
Heinz and Margit Fischer
Michael and Margarita Freissmuth
Annabelle, Tara, Constantin and Paul Habsburg-Lothringen
Johannes Hahn
Michael Häupl
Christian J. Herold
Erika Jensen-Jarolim
Beatrix Karl
Reinhard Krepler
Ernst M. Kopper
Klaus Lechner
Jürgen Meier
Laurenz and Waltraud Niel
Sebastian Nijman and Helen Pickersgill
Primus and Katharina Österreicher
Elisabeth and Helmut Pockberger
Maria Polsterer-Kattus
Barbara Prammer
Georg and Martina Prantl
Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth
Wolfgang Schütz
Constantin Spiegelfeld
Georg Stingl
Erich W. Streissler
Giulio and Stefanie Superti-Furga
Peter Swetly
Witold and Claudia Szymanski
Iris, Zambak and Abdurrahman Uras
Erwin Wagner
Herbert Watzke
Klaus Wolff
Nikolaus and Gabriele Zacherl
Franz Zwickl

AKH Vienna
CeMM Administration
CeMM Barlow Lab
CeMM PhD Students
CeMM Postdoctoral Fellows
Medical University of Vienna
Austrian Academy of Sciences
STRABAG AG
University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of Vienna
Vossius & Partner