Research Networks

The objectives are to increase the implementation of measures for the rational use of energy and resources, to increase efficiency in energy conversion and supply and to intensify the use of renewable energies while at the same time providing a high level of user comfort.

The technical solutions required for this are always also design tasks. Consequently, artistic-design and social issues are also central to generalist optimization.

Environmentally conscious architecture understands the technical requirements of buildings as a starting point, motivation and source of inspiration for expressive and perceptible concepts for structural realization. In this respect, the network questions one-dimensional optimization solutions for buildings in close dialogue between technical and design-oriented specialist areas and counters them with more far-reaching solutions.

This provides approaches which, on the one hand, are suitable for the qualification of existing buildings and, in particular, culturally and historically significant buildings and, on the other hand, demonstrate pioneering integrated design solutions for an urban society.

Topics for Future Research

• Facade refurbishment
• Thermal bridges in existing buildings
• Technology and design
• Energy-efficient refurbishment of historic buildings

Potential Funders
BMBF, BMWi, BMUB and the state of Hesse

The aim is to build a bridge between basic research and its application in planning –particularly in landscape planning – through the diversity of the specialist areas involved and the interdisciplinary orientation of the specialist areas themselves.

The research projects are therefore mostly geared towards the optimization and new development of procedures and measures in environmental planning and landscape management. They serve to support decision-making and policy advice in environmental policy. They are based on in-depth scientific, planning and legal analyses that focus on the management of cultural landscapes.

The tension between the preservation of valuable landscapes, ecosystems and species and an appropriate approach to changes in lifestyles and economic practices, land use and ecosystems against the backdrop of global
changes – such as climate change – plays a special role.

The focus is on the following topics:

• Perception and appreciation of nature and landscape
• Guiding principles/objectives and management instruments in nature conservation and landscape planning (including overall spatial planning)
• Communication and GIS application in landscape planning
• Landscape and water ecology, in particular with regard to species and biotope protection
• Landscape management and landscape conservation (also in the context of climate adaptation)

Within the time horizon of the new SEP, the ULM research network would like to strengthen both the basic scientific area (water and climate research) and the planning area (Landscape Planning, Communication, GIS) by realigning the professorships to be filled and integrating them into the overall concept of the network.

To this end, joint research areas - such as wilderness research and cultural landscape research - are to be expanded and new research areas developed, particularly with the newly appointed colleagues. The latter could, for example, be in the areas of landscapes and climate change, floodplain and watercourse development through the Water Framework Directive or new communication strategies in landscape planning.

The focus is on questions of cultural and social change and their effects on the transformation of building, urban and open space typologies. The actors involved in the production of space are considered as well as social regulations. These include, for example, ownership structures, laws and norms. The built space is seen both as an indicator and an initiator of social change. Concepts are developed for a transformation design for the development and consolidation of an open society with cultural differentiation and hybridization. The corresponding questions are:

How do everyday cultures and lifestyles affect the built environment? How is space negotiated in society? How does society articulate itself aesthetically, what role does built space play in social self-assurance?

The topics include housing, public space, climate change and the energy transition, mobility and digitalization, knowledge spaces and symbol production as well asspaces of remembrance and built heritage. The topics are not understood in isolation, but in context. Multidimensional solutions are developed for increasingly complex requirements. The scales range from urban design constellations to the interaction of the human body with the built environment on a 1:1 scale.

The focus is on both the historical and the transformational perspective.

Planning history deals with the changes in the self-image and practice of the exercise of state power and their effects on the control and influence of spatial use.

Spatial transformation research deals with contributions to the creation of resilient urban regions in transdisciplinary practice beyond spatial planning.

The research focus is on materials and technology: Which materials are used and how? How can they be functionalized and activated so that they take on new tasks in complex spatial requirements? What opportunities arise from research into new digital technologies, methods, tools and manufacturing technologies? And how can this potential be used to develop new types of production, construction, design and planning processes?

The participating research groups use artistic, engineering, material and spatial science methods to answer these questions. These create a clear link between research and application.

The knowledge gained includes the design of spaces — inside and outside — in conjunction with technological and material-specific constructions and processes as well as aesthetic quality. The results include innovations, artistic and scientific findings and are methodically developed, researched and reflected upon in line with the respective issue.

How do we conceive, design, plan and build space in architecture, cities and landscapes sustainably for the future?

The research focus is on materials and technology: Which materials are used and how? How can they be functionalized and activated so that they take on new tasks in complex spatial requirements? What opportunities arise from research into new digital technologies, methods, tools and manufacturing technologies? And how can this potential be used to develop new types of production, construction, design and planning processes?

Artistic, engineering, material and spatial science methods are used in the participating research groups to answer these questions. These create a clear link between research and application.

The knowledge gained includes the design of spaces — interior and exterior — in conjunction with technological and material-specific constructions and processes as well as aesthetic quality. The results include innovations, artistic and scientific findings and are methodically developed, researched and reflected upon in line with the respective issue.