The prize for the best Bachelor's thesis in 2022 went to Anthony Sabo for his work on the design “Bologna Ripensare L'universita”.

The aim of the design, edited by the Department of Design and Building Construction (Prof. Felix Waechter), was to rethink Europe's oldest university – the Università di Bologna. Instead of shielded places of learning for frontal imparting of knowledge in autonomous courses of study, a multifunctional urban building block with spaces for learning- and competence-oriented teaching and interdisciplinary exchange was to be created in the midst of the historic urban fabric.

Anthony Sabo expanded the campus to include the Palazzo Pitstop. This forms the hub for diverse knowledge and cultural exchange. The lower two floors of the sculptural-looking cuboid are dominated by a public lecture hall, which can be connected to the foyer/café. Two cores serve as points of orientation in the inner structure, which is characterised by level relationships and the development trajectory. The vertical development, which becomes steeper from floor to floor, emphasises the increasing privacy of the rooms. The learning landscape on the second and third floors merges with the communal temporary living area via the outdoor kitchen.

Further information

The prize for the best Master's thesis in 2022 went to Master's graduate Julia Kemkemer for her free Master's thesis “Zwischen-Raum-Nutzen: Visions for the (Um)Land”.

In the thesis, supervised by Prof. Dr Annette Rudolph-Cleff's Department of Design and Urban Development, Kemkemer examines the rural area in the Bavarian Odenwald using two case studies. By using existing materials and social capital, the responsibility of architecture before society is underlined. A (building) project does not begin with the purchase of products and raw materials without a regional connection, but ideally draws on local resources. The place and its inhabitants are thus directly rooted in the resulting architecture – a system that worked well for centuries and has increasingly disintegrated in recent decades. This is the right approach in view of the current crisis of raw materials, climate and energy.

Further information on the work

Ralf Steinmetz, member of the board of the Association of Friends of TU Darmstadt, presented the prizes at the farewell ceremony for the Master's graduates of the winter semester 2022/23 on 17 February in the Max Guther Lecture Hall. The prizes are endowed with 1,000 euros each.

The exhibition with all the works nominated for the prize can be seen until 3 March in the gallery on the 1st floor of the department building.

Congratulations!