Mission Control: The award-winning design by Leonela Duque.

The Georg Moller Award, announced by the City of Science Darmstadt, commemorates the work of Georg Moller. It is aimed at students of the Department of Architecture at TU Darmstadt and honors academic projects that engage with architectural and planning tasks related to Darmstadt.

Submissions came from the Department of Design and Building Typology led by Professor Wolfgang Lorch from the summer semester 2025, all of which addressed the design task “Mission Control_DA.” The central focus was the development of a visitor and control center for the European Space Agency (ESA) / European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt. The goal was to convey to visitors the interface between cosmos and Earth. Since ESA/ESOC in Darmstadt is a major attraction for space enthusiasts, the center was intended to make the work of the institution visible and tangible. The existing control center is difficult to access. Therefore, the new center is expected to increase ESA/ESOC’s visibility and provide space for education and research. Due to security regulations, the current and future premises are fenced off and only accessible through guided tours, making an entrance building with security controls necessary. Students were free to integrate the existing control center into their urban plan or to design a new plaza connected to the broader campus.

First place was awarded to Leonela Duque. Gina Tetecher received second place. Amélie Marocke and Izet Ramadani shared third place. Honorable mentions were given to Vanessa Kalteier, Leonard Stahr, and Shelia Jap. Following the award ceremony, Mayor Benz opened the accompanying exhibition of the winning projects.

“The Georg Moller Award 2025 and this year’s competition entries have once again shown how valuable a young and fresh perspective can be for forward-looking urban development projects. Here in the City of Science Darmstadt, we benefit greatly from the innovative ideas of our students. My thanks go to all participants for their designs,” said Mayor Hanno Benz.

The exhibition is open from 18 to 24 November 2025, daily from 12 pm to 6 pm at the Residenzschloss (Marktplatz-facing wing, Room S3|12).

Michael Kolmer, City Councillor, Department III

Anette Laute, Head of the Urban Planning Office

Sarah Luh, Project Manager, Construction and Project Management, Bauverein AG

Prof. Elke Reichel, Department of Design and Building Typology

Prof. Ariel Auslender, Department of Plastic Design

Prof. Wolfgang Lorch, Department of Design and Building Typology

Lea Leist, Department of Design and Building Typology

Christian Renner, Department of Design and Building Typology

Lucas Hölscher, Department of Design and Building Typology

Fabian Luttropp, Department of Plastic Design

The Georg Moller Award was first presented in 1989. Since 2000, the prize money has been sponsored by Bauverein AG. The award aims to “promote engagement with real urban and architectural challenges of our city through a creative link between theory and practice.” According to the statute, it also seeks to “stimulate professional dialogue between the City of Darmstadt, Bauverein AG, and the Technical University.”

The influential architect and architectural researcher Georg Moller (1784–1852), as head of the Hessian state construction authority, significantly shaped Darmstadt’s civic-classicist urban structure and cityscape through his urban planning and key buildings.