Themen waren u.a. der Vergleich von Zertifizierungssystemen im Bereich des nachhaltigen Bauens, experimentelle Materialforschung, städtebaulich-historische Untersuchungen und typologische Analysen zu flexiblen Grundrissen.

Ziel des Heinz-Stillger-Preises ist eine Stärkung des Stellenwerts der Forschung in der Lehre und eine Förderung der Durchgängigkeit vom Bachelor über den Master in die Forschung und Promotion.

During the award ceremony on the Faculty's Research Day, Dean Prof. Dr. Christiane Salge emphasised the importance of the prize: “The Stillger Prize changes something. As a teacher, it is a good moment to reflect on what constitutes good scientific research.

The presentations by the nominees for the Stillger Prize are just as important – for the nominees themselves, but also for all the other students, who get ideas from it about what they can do and how they can do research themselves.”

The prize is sponsored by the HEINZ-STILLGER-STIFTUNG, which is based in Wiesbaden. The purpose of the foundation, which was established in 1995, is, among other things, “to finance research and science in the field of architecture” and “to support gifted and eligible students of architecture”.

A special feature of the award is the two-stage selection process. After the nomination of the projects by the departments, the jury (consisting of Prof.'in Kerstin Molter (Mainz University of Applied Sciences), Prof.i.V. Martin Baur, Dr. Mieke Pfarr-Harfst, Dr. Andreas Noback and the students Patricia Dauenhauer and Tabea Oberle) selected five projects for the second round of judging. In this round, the nominated students presented their projects to an audience in the form of a science slam. This took place – as did the award ceremony – as part of the department's “9th Day of Research”.

The prize is endowed with a total of 5,000 euros, which was divided among the five nominees.

1st prize
Bernadette Lang-Eurisch
“The way to a climate-neutral building stock 2050 – comparison of the certification systems according to DGNB, LEED and BREEAM”.
Submitted by the Department of Design and Sustainable Construction

In her research work, Bernadette Lang-Eurisch examines the three best-known internationally established certification systems for the sustainability of buildings. In a detailed analysis, she compares the criteria according to which the buildings are certified. In particular, the focus is on the C02 assessment by means of life cycle assessment methods and the neighbourhood reference in the certification processes.

She succeeds in answering the topic and the questions derived from it in a very clear and comprehensible way by creating an evaluation matrix. In particular, the diagrams she created have a high insight value. She describes the potentials and limitations of the systems and points out further development possibilities to improve the balancing methodology in the certification process.

The jury was particularly impressed by the high degree of independent and methodologically coherent approach to the research question, which is expressed not least in the depth of content of the research documentation.
(Endowed with 2,000 euros)

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2nd prize
Clara Wolf
“Cement tiles – colours and mixing ratios. An experimental research module to determine the pigment and water content in the colour layer of handmade cement tiles”.
Submitted by the Department of Plastic Design

In her research project, Clara Wolf deals with the artisanal production of cement tiles. Her aim is to optimise and document the production of the colour layer of the cement tile by means of series of experiments in order to enable reproducible results, among other things, with regard to the colour shades achieved.

Clara Wolf's project is an excellent example of applied architectural research. Her work analyses very tangibly fundamental processes in the production of architectural design elements. The work contributes to making this old technique available again with craftsmanlike precision and is thus also a contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage. Ms Wolf's work enables planners themselves to actively access production methods in order to make themselves independent of prefabricated industrial products.
(Endowed with 1,500 euros)

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3rd prize
Jeanne Bieneck
“Reconstruction of Identity in Frankfurt's Saalgasse. Do the postmodern townhouses of Saalgasse have an identity-forming significance related to the destroyed old town?”
Submitted by the Department of Architecture and Art History

In her bachelor's thesis, Jeanne Bieneck deals with the postmodern houses in Saalgasse built in Frankfurt from 1980 onwards in connection with the construction of the Schirn Kunsthalle. These are part of the critical reconstruction of Frankfurt's old town, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The work focuses on the question of the extent to which the buildings in Saalgasse, which in the spirit of postmodernism refer associatively and ironically to the historical models, contribute to the identity of the city of Frankfurt.

On the basis of three selected houses, Jeanne Bieneck meticulously works out the references back to the historic old town houses and their identity-creating significance for the city of Frankfurt. She comes to the conclusion that the Saalgasse certainly represents an offer of identification, but that it demands a certain amount of transfer thinking from the viewer.
(Endowed with 1,000 euros)

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Acknowledgements

Kim Weyrauch
“Mannheim and Heidelberg – A comparison of urban planning models of the post-war period”.
Submitted by the Department of Architectural Theory and Science

In her research work, Kim Weyrauch examines the two neighbouring cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, which started from diametrically opposed starting positions in the period after the Second World War. On the one hand, the almost completely destroyed industrial and former residential city of Mannheim; on the other, the tranquil university city of Heidelberg with an almost intact building stock. Both cities are prime examples of the different urban planning models after 1945, which propagated either the preservation of the historic cityscape or radical reconstruction according to a structured and loosened city.

Against the background of the contrasting attitudes, Kim Weyrauch's research does not focus on the paradigmatic models, however, but on the contrary on the commonalities of the urban planning measures undertaken in both cities in the period up to 1990. In an expert and structured manner, she brings together the critically-reflective analysis of literature and planning material in descriptive pictograms. She supplements these with a scientifically sound and easily readable written elaboration.

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Louisa Winter
“The liberation of the floor plan from the standardised bathroom. What types of flexibility are developing? Analysis and categorisation of seven case studies”
Submitted by the Department of Design and Housing.

Lousia Winter's research project explores the role of the bathroom in contemporary housing. Against the background of the development of flexible housing structures, she formulates the relevant question of whether the bathroom can adapt to the flexibility of floor plans in its design and positioning, and whether sanitary spaces can be designed to be inherently flexible.

Based on several case studies, which she evaluates in detail by means of floor plan analyses, the work achieves a high depth of content. It looks at both the spatial-atmospheric and technical characteristics of the rooms studied. The result of the analysis is a catalogue of strategies for making bathrooms more flexible. This work thus makes an important contribution to basic research on flexible typologies that are suitable for contributing to diverse and more sustainable housing and urban development through their adaptability, low spatial determination and/or changeable use in everyday life.

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The awards are endowed with 250 euros each.

Congratulations to all the winners!

The founder of the award is the freelance architect and TU alumnus Dr.-Ing. Heinz Stillger (1922-2008), who would have turned 100 on the day of the award ceremony. Heinz Stillger studied architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt from 1947 to 1951. In 1952, he founded his own architectural practice in Bad Camberg, which was soon expanded to Wiesbaden and the Limburg-Weilburg and Wetzlar districts. Thus, with active participation in competitions in these regions, a large number of private and public buildings were created until 1997. Heinz Stillger's architecture is characterised by a convinced orientation towards the design ideas of the Werkbund and the Bauhaus. Heinz Stillger was an architect with heart and soul. With the establishment of his foundation, he made it clear that he had dedicated his life entirely to architecture.

The HEINZ-STILLGER-STIFTUNG is a foundation under civil law with legal capacity, based in Wiesbaden. It was founded in 1995 and pursues exclusively non-profit purposes. The purpose of the foundation is scientific and artistic tasks, especially in the field of architecture and the art of building craftsmanship, as well as the promotion of professional training in this field. This is realised, among other things, through:

• The financing of research and science in the field of architecture.
• The support of gifted students of architecture who are worthy of promotion
• The promotion and support of the training of master craftsmen
• The promotion of the preservation of historical monuments, in particular historic buildings.

https://www.stillger-stiftung.de

9th Research Day at the Faculty of Architecture