HHU - Urban Design Competition Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf (GER)

(Invited competition, 2010)

GFA: approx. 600.000 m2

The driving idea for the planning was to develop a flexible masterplan for the Campus of the Heinrich-Heine-University that will be open to the future and to possible consecutive expansions. The Campus has mainly an urban character. The foundations for a well-balanced  concentration of buildings is created by a superordinated grid, which includes existing buildings, as well as, the new designed extension. That is the core property for an efficient use of space - both for the single institutes, their inner structure and for its urbanistic correlation. Thus, explicitly defined points of connection to the central axis are created.

The main aspects of this masterplan are a clear orientation, the identification of the single institute‘s adresses though a well-defined viability, handicapped accessible availability to all buildings and public spaces. The integration current relations in the north-south-axis and the implementation of new additional relations from east to west woven into the new urban grid.

Furthermore  a very important part of the concept was to create areas for expansion and compression on the campus site. These are independent from all chronological processes, allowing, thus, a sustainable campus development for future needs. Beyond the described solutions proposed for this phase – a potential for future expansions is created that will already fit into the superordinated urban grid system and will be therefore integrated into an existing and efficient infrastructure.