R:28 | Summer Semester 2023

At the end of the summer semester 2023, the Faculty of Architecture - Urban Planning - Landscape Planning at the University of Kassel once again hosted the semester exhibition Rundgang. From July 11 to 13, 2023, students and lecturers gave insights into their semester projects on the ASL campus and in the city. Subject representatives and interested members of the public were invited to discover the diversity of student work, get to know the work processes and discuss the results.

ASL students traditionally end their semester with an exhibition of their project work. As is usual in later practice, they show analyses and processes, present ideas, designs and concepts and deal with questions from fellow students, representatives of the field and the public.

The exhibition was organised by academic and student staff from the Departments of Design and Building Construction (formerly Prof. Brigitte Häntsch) and Design and Construction in Existing Contexts (Prof. Claus Anderhalten).

Detailed information on the programme and the projects can be found in the exhibition magazine on the R:ein website.

Bottom-Up: Extension of a High-Rise Garage for a Youth and Meeting Centre in Kassel  

In the architecture project "Bottom-up: Aufstockung einer Hochgarage für ein Jugend- und Begegnungszentrum in Kassel" (formerly Prof. Brigitte Häntsch, Benjamin Zweig and Lukas Kasten, Department of Design and Building Construction), students designed a youth and meeting center for the Kongress Palais parking garage in Kassel. They take into account the inner-city densification potential, sustainability and the added value of the site for urban society as well as the target group and their needs.

Co-Working Spaces as Third Spaces - Impulses for Neighborhood Development in Kassel through New Work Locations?

In the introductory urban planning project  "Co-working spaces as third spaces - Impulse für die Quartiersentwicklung in Kassel durch neue Arbeitsorte?" (Prof. Dr. Anna Growe, Department of Economy of Urban and Regional Development), students from the second semester looked at possible interactions between co-working spaces and urban districts in Kassel as well as between co-working spaces and medium-sized towns in the surrounding area of Kassel. In their presentations, the students highlight the potential and networking opportunities offered by co-working spaces.

The experimental field of the introductory project in landscape architecture "StadtFreiRaum Platz_da!" (Prof. Ariane Röntz and Laura Siebken, Department of Landscape Architecture | Design) is the Samuel-Beckett-Anlage in Kassel. The second semester students dealt with the basic questions of landscape architectural design: What requirements should this square meet and what atmosphere characterizes it? How do you design a public space? How does the precise design contribute to its optimal functioning? The resulting concepts show further developments of the Samuel-Beckett-Anlage.

The interdisciplinary ASL studio "LEERE STADT? Designing for the Continued Use of Endangered Spaces in Kassel" (Prof. Dr. Gabu Heindl, Florine Schüschke and Nina Manz, Department of ARCHITECTURE CITY ECONOMY) focuses on vacancies in Kassel and their political reach. In collaboration with andpartnersincrime, Staatstheater Kassel and why so empty, the studio researched the abundance of vacant properties and developed designs for the reactivation and repurposing of the former post office in Untere Königsstraße, the Hansa-Haus in Kurt-Schumacher-Straße and a state-owned villa in Goethestraße. The students used public campaigns to visualize the vacancy in the city.

Campus Beautification: New Interdisciplinary, Self-Determined Implementation Project

The interdisciplinary ASL project "Campus-Verschönerung: Neues interdisziplinäres, selbstbestimmtes Umsetzungs-Projekt" (Prof. Dr. habil. Harald Kegler and Frank Kistner, Department of Urban Regeneration and Planning Theory). The students developed objects to improve the learning situation of the students and at the same time to improve the usability of the area. The objects, which also have a connection to the history of the faculty and the university, are also intended to promote social cohesion and strengthen the campuses as places to study and learn as well as general meeting places and places to spend time.