Kulturcampus Frankfurt am Main
Master’s thesis Summer 2024

Published by the Institute of Design and Urban Development (Prof. Dr. Annette Rudolph-Cleff).

Bochum is great! A large number of high-quality buildings from the 1950s and 1960s with their simultaneously subtle and restrained facades stand in an apparently tolerant style next to newer architecture, in some cases also sins of the following decades.

The hodgepodge in the center of this large city in the middle of the Ruhr area between Essen and Dortmund appears as an urban configuration strangely harmonious and surprisingly balanced in all its contradictions.

In a central location between the main train station, the Schauspielhaus, the Union-Kino and the pedestrian zone, probably the best-known pub district in the Ruhr area has emerged, with small and large events. The Bermuda3E is already a widely visible hot spot of live culture. The question of the further development of the Bermuda3E now arises not only in the context of the thematic areas of the ISEK, but also in the question of the post-pandemic city.

The task deals with that very Bermuda3Eck (i.F. B3E), B3E asks for design solutions for the neighborhood, which bundle existing project ideas, already identified fields of action and especially perspectives of a post-pandemic live culture in an urban vision.

Orientation is provided by the guiding principles that have been developed for Bochum 2030. The “Strategy 2030” and “Bochum 2030 – Vision Innenstadt” describe target images and focal points that can serve as guidelines for future activities. The strategic goals leave a great deal of openness for discussion with the citizenry and the development of future core activities.

The coexistence of high culture and everyday culture as well as institutionalized culture and the independent scene is understood as an inspiration and identification in the city: The lively cultural scene and its initiatives are to be used to strengthen the cultural space for creative people. The goal of opening up not only creative milieus and places but also virtual spaces in the course of digitalization is emphasized in Strategy 2030.

For the Bermuda3Eck, the themes of the “city of productive knowledge” and “networked city life” are the focus of Bochum 2030 – Vision Innenstadt.

Malinalli Boss and Yvonne Herbke were awarded the department prize for their urban design project on the theme 'Cultural Campus in Frankfurt/Main.' As part of the task issued by the Department of Design and Urban Planning (Prof. i.V. Torsten Becker), an urban quarter with affordable housing was to be developed on the site of the former Bockenheim Campus of the Goethe University, where the cultural institutions of the new University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK) and Frankfurt LAB would naturally find their place.

A central concern of Boss and Herbke is to make the academic intellectual history publicly visible and make the area accessible to a broad audience. Additionally, the area should open up according to the new uses and have a greater impact on the urban level. The open spaces are intended to serve as meeting places in the urban space, promoting low-threshold cultural exchange.

The central cultural square, framed by the HfMDK with an urban high point, libraries, and the café of Frankfurt LAB, is characterized by a colorful pavement. A color gradient from dark to light guides visitors to the cultural square, which is marked by patterns in the ground and allows glimpses into the buildings. Since the square is located above the subway and offers little greenery, trees planted on the sides, a café, a bookstand, and a water feature create a lively atmosphere. Umbrellas collect rainwater for the water feature, which improves the microclimate in the summer. The space-forming shading elements are equipped with lighting that creates a colorful play of light on the ground during the day. The third public square, the Deep Courtyard, offers additional space for urban and university events.

Awarded the departmental prize for the best Master's thesis