Science Tower Graz, Office high-rise in Lend, Graz, Austria.

Science Tower Graz is a high-rise in the Lend district whose double-skinned facade wraps an inverted truncated cone. The inner skin is a metal post-and-rail facade up to the second floor, then prefabricated elements with integrated summer night cooling. The outer shell has energy glass in its top third and bent, chemically prestressed thin glass below; between the skins, floors 3 to 12 carry a 360° sun-tracking sunshade with a 40 kWp PV array.

The Science Tower was conceived in 2011 by physicist Mario J. Müller and architect Markus Pernthaler as a competence centre for sustainable urban technologies. Ground was broken on 5 May 2015 on the former Waagner-Biro works site in Lend, the topping-out ceremony followed in June 2016, and the building opened on 21 September 2017 in the presence of Infrastructure Minister Jörg Leichtfried. Construction cost 16 million euros, of which 1.144 million was funded by the Climate and Energy Fund with the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology.

The tower houses multiple research organizations and scientific groups that work together on innovative projects. Visitors can sense the energy of a modern knowledge hub where different experts and researchers interact.

The tower is located in the Smart City district and is easily reached by public transport. Note that only certain areas are open to visitors, so it is worth checking access details beforehand.

The Grätzel cell in the facade converts sunlight into electricity without silicon, using an organic dye, a process sometimes called artificial photosynthesis. Between the third and twelfth floors, a 360° sun-tracking shading system with integrated 40 kWp photovoltaics rotates automatically. Twelve geothermal probes, each 200 metres deep, plus a 200 m³ sprinkler tank as heat buffer, replace a conventional heating system.