The Atrium Part 1 Project 2021 Johannes Hackl Coventry University | UK The Atrium represents a sustainable centre for innovation, while simultaneously attempting to re-diversify Coventry’s student dominated city centre. The proposal’s design was heavily driven by its diagonal passage forming an atrium which penetrates all floors of the building. This void forms a connection between the built- up city centre and a previously neglected riverside park. The rooftop residential development acts as a prototype for flat-roof extension to other buildings in the city to re-inhabit and diversify inner Coventry.Tackling current climate issues, the building’s materiality challenges the conventional idea of innovation and high-tech, as this Innovation Centre is constructed completely from timber. The exposed glulam columns and beams are visible from the atrium, around which all spaces are arranged.The public program consists of a VR Experience Space, transporting visitors into the digital realm, allowing them to experience cutting edge software powered by augmented- as well as virtual reality hardware. The main attraction will be accompanied by Co-Working Spaces for start-ups, students and young professionals and a MR [Mixed Reality] Media Laboratory as a fertile ground for innovation and development within the tech industry. Tutor(s)