Our subject and profession is characterised by continuous growth in the range of tasks performed by architects as they mediate, coordinate and shape collective processes as all-rounders, specialists and facilitators. The department is convinced that complex specialist requirements and the critical reflection required to meet them can only be mastered through a broad, diversified approach to research and teaching. Design in architecture and urban planning in the sense of an integral transfer of knowledge is thus a consistent focus of our courses. It is not possible to strictly separate the analysing/planning subject and the planned object in architecture and urban planning because planning itself is a methodology.
As a social practice, architecture often finds itself caught up in the conflicts surrounding political and technological change. Yet the themes and areas of activity addressed by architects and urban planners and the working methods used by them are dictated more than ever today by global challenges: Climate change, population growth, migration, scarcity of resources and digitalisation are having a direct impact on (and being impacted by) the constructed environment. In this context, the aim is to develop high-quality spatial and functional answers using urban planning processes and architectural design methodology, while taking account of specific local requirements and framework conditions. The endeavour to meet these aims – against the background of the ongoing, public debate on what is contemporary and appropriate in the building sector – is a substantial contribution made by architecture to social discourse.
In the study and analysis of architecture, cities, open spaces and their histories at a university level, the knowledge and methods necessary for developing a sustainable and thus future-oriented building culture are examined, refined and taught. As a catalyst between technical expertise, social responsibility, artistic design, critical reflection and cultural transformation, the Department of Architecture is particularly suited for bringing together different academic disciplines within the framework of building and urban research. This doesn’t only provide students with interdisciplinary skills, but also encourages students to develop their own standpoints – by carefully considering their own personal responsibility with respect to the (constructed) environment and society.