Meet the Life Science Center Vienna

Artificial intelligence has become indispensable in modern health research and the further development of biomedicine. It will make it possible in future to tailor therapies and medicines more closely to individual disease profiles — faster and more precisely than ever before. This is precisely where the City of Vienna comes in: on approximately 14,000 m², the Vienna Business Agency is building the Life Science Center Vienna in Neu Marx, an innovation and AI hub designed to make a significant contribution to people’s health.

The objective of the Life Science Center Vienna is to strengthen Vienna’s role as a leading European location for research, life sciences and innovation, while taking an effective step to strengthen Vienna’s economy. The project will create conditions for 500 highly qualified jobs and annual value creation of around EUR 90 million, with the aim of safeguarding prosperity and securing Vienna’s innovative strength, while benefitting the health of the Viennese.

Completion planned by 2029

The Life Science Center Vienna will comprise a ground floor, six upper floors and one basement level, and is being designed as an energy-efficient, sustainable laboratory and office building with climate-neutral energy supply. On behalf of the City of Vienna, the Vienna Business Agency is investing around EUR 170 million in planning and construction. Completion is scheduled for 2029.

The construction activity alone will secure around 1,000 jobs in the construction sector. The building will offer flexibly configurable laboratory space, high-performance infrastructure for offices and meeting areas, and the option of integrating additional server capacity in the basement for robotics laboratory and AI applications.

New momentum 

Vienna’s life sciences sector has been growing for years and continues to invest in research and development. Annual turnover recently increased by 22% to around EUR 22.7 billion. More than 49,000 people are employed in Vienna’s life sciences sector.

With the Life Science Center Vienna, the City is systematically driving forward the development of Vienna as a business location and strengthening the sector’s continued growth. The center will meet the increasing demand from established companies and SMEs, as well as the strong demand from startups and scaleups for modular, future-ready laboratory space and state-of-the-art computing power.

AITHYRA first tenant — 7,000 m² for AI in biomedicine

The new center will be built in the vicinity of the Vienna BioCenter in Neu Marx — an outstanding scientific cluster with six research institutions as well as 42 companies and startups. The Life Science Center Vienna will complement this ecosystem as an interface between artificial intelligence and life sciences. In doing so, Vienna is clearly positioning itself in the competition for talent, innovation and investment as one of Europe’s leading life sciences and AI metropolises.

The first tenant at the Life Science Center Vienna will be AITHYRA, the research institute for artificial intelligence in biomedicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which is funded by the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. AITHYRA will occupy around 7,000 m², equivalent to 50% of the space, and is expected to move in as early as 2029.

The modern spatial design of the Life Science Center Vienna will also enable future tenants to use robotics for extensive laboratory automation — from individual process steps through to the partially or fully autonomous execution of experiments using robotics and AI. The required computing power will be provided by a dedicated, state-of-the-art server infrastructure in the basement.

The Life Science Center Vienna will be completed by 2029. It is being designed as an energy-efficient, sustainable laboratory and office building with climate-neutral energy supply and will be certified according to the Gold Standard of the Austrian Society for Sustainable Building (ÖGNB).

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Facts: Life Science Center Vienna (LSCV)

General

• Location: Neu Marx, Litfaßstraße, 1030 Vienna
• Approx. 14,000 m² of laboratory and office space: basement level for server infrastructure, ground floor and six upper floors
• Planning and construction: Vienna Business Agency on behalf of the City of Vienna
• AITHYRA will lease 50% of the space, amounting to 7,000 m²

Financing & economic impact

• Budget/investment: around EUR 170 million
• Annual value creation from completion: approx. EUR 90 million
• Annual tax revenue from completion: around EUR 3 million for the City of Vienna
• Around 1,000 jobs secured in the construction sector during construction
• Space for around 500 highly qualified jobs in life sciences, AI and research after commissioning

Sustainability & energy

• Energy-efficient laboratory building with climate-neutral energy supply targeted
• Renewable energy sources, heat pumps, geothermal probes/groundwater
• Photovoltaic surfaces on the roof and façade
• Measures to prevent summer overheating and urban heat islands, including greening and shading
• Certification: ÖGNB Gold

Timeline

• 2026: detailed planning, site preparation, marketing/leasing, building permit
• 2027: planned start of construction
• April 2029: structural completion for AITHYRA, full operation from 2030

Website: www.lifesciencecentervienna.at