Bad Kissingen, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Great Spa Towns of Europe,” faces the exciting challenge of linking its historic heritage with the demands of future-oriented urban development. In the tension between tradition and innovation, this project explores how the “Spa Town of Tomorrow” can be shaped so that history, culture, and heritage harmonize with innovative uses, sustainable mobility, contemporary housing, and social and ecological needs, creating a cohesive and experiential urban environment.

The southern city entrance around the former slaughterhouse (“Ochsenkathedrale”) serves as an experimental field for this purpose. Here, diverse uses, listed buildings, and vacant sites converge. The goal is to transform this contradictory “Sleeping Beauty” site into a vibrant, inclusive, and green neighbourhood that preserves the identity and history of the area while allowing space for experimental, forward-looking approaches. Past and present, preservation and renewal should be interwoven in spatial, functional, and design terms.

1. Meeting: Info meeting about the excursion 10.10.25 1:00 p.m., online on Zoom (link/access on Moodle)

Excursion: 15.10.2025, 09:15 a.m. – ca. 20:00 p.m., meeting point TBC, Bad Kissingen

Visits:
18.11.25 Visit I

16.12.25 Visit II

13.01.26 Visit III

Examination:

Submission KW 7 2026

Commission week KW 8 2026

Contact: info@stadt.tu-darmstadt.de, vonmackensen@stadt.tu-darmstadt.de