The following topics were addressed:

Institute of Architectural and Spatial Design (Prof.'in Johanna Meyer-Grohbrügge)

After years of debate over the future of the Städtische Bühnen in Frankfurt, the city's Magistrat decided at the end of 2024 to permanently vacate the current shared site of the theatre and opera at Willy-Brandt-Platz. Due to plans for a new cultural mile, an interim solution — a temporary venue for the Städtische Bühnen — has become unavoidable. This master's thesis explores how a former bank archive building in Frankfurt's Gutleutviertel, acquired by the city for this purpose, could be transformed into a temporary playhouse. The design task requires engaging with the public programme of a playhouse in the context of temporary construction. The limited service life of the new building raises questions about experimental forms of theatre, reversible construction methods, and resilient transformations of the existing structure.

Institute of Design and Urban Development (Prof.’in Dr. Annette Rudolph-Cleff)

The master’s thesis addresses the question of how urban spaces can be reimagined as inclusive, cross-generational spaces for movement and culture. Under the title “Body + Movement,” the urban design task involved developing an integrated architectural and landscape concept for the Prague island of Štvanice and its opposite riverbanks. The aim was to strengthen the island's distinctive character as a low-threshold, accessible, and socially mixed open space, while not displacing existing initiatives such as the River Surfing Project, the Mystic Skatepark, or the traditional tennis club, but instead developing them further as identity-forming elements.

The thesis proceeds from the premise that architecture and landscape must be conceived as an interconnected system: sports facilities and open spaces should not stand isolated side by side, but appear as a spatially interlocked structure that promotes biodiversity and climate resilience. In keeping with the guiding theme “For those who stay,” the students design the island as a socially and ecologically responsible urban space with long-term viability — a place where transience and transformation become part of the urban fabric, without succumbing to commodification.

Institute of Construction and Experimental Design (Prof. Wolfgang Lorch)

The master's thesis engages with the demanding interface of heritage conservation, landscape, and contemporary typology. Under the title „Maurach“, the design task involved the architectural conception of a new guest house in the immediate context of the listed Baroque ensemble of Maurach Castle on Lake Constance. The aim was to critically question the site's historical continuity and to formulate design-based responses to building onward within a sensitive historic fabric.

A central theoretical premise of the thesis is the recognition that historically significant ensembles can only remain alive in the long term through the principle of „preservation through use”. Safeguarding such singular places for the future requires a careful, functionally viable revitalisation. The architectural extension serves as a supporting pillar in this process: it transforms the historic ensemble into a contemporary place of encounter and, through its new use, secures its social relevance.

Also several independent theses are being presented, supervised by the Digital Design Unit, the Institute for Design and Sustainable Building, and the Institute for Design and Housing.

Exhibition Duration:
Monday, July 27 – Friday, July 31, 2026

Department of Architecture
Building L3|01
El-Lissitzky-Straße 1
64287 Darmstadt

Ceremonial Farewell for Graduates
Friday, July 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM
Max-Guther Lecture Hall (L3|01 Room 93)
El-Lissitzky-Straße 1
Campus Lichtwiese, TU Darmstadt
Keynote Speech by Amber Sayah, Architecture Journalist, Stuttgart