Cusanus Academy

Situated in the park of the Baroque seminary, Cusanus Academy emerged as a widely acclaimed South Tyrolean pioneer project in postwar architecture. The three-story building closes the courtyard, urbanistically speaking, behind the historical seminary building with the church. It interpreted a theme of Bressanone’s Old Town in a contemporary way: arcades and bays run down the whole length of the eastern facade. The materials, exposed concrete and hard-burnt brick, consistently shape both the outer shell and the interiors with a quality that, even half a century later, shows no structural damage. In the center of the building is a large hall from which all the spaces on the upper floors are accessed via galleries. Because it has good acoustics the hall is often used as a large lecture room. It is vaulted and has a structurally interesting exposed concrete ceiling, the arches of which give the space good illumination.