Regional competition "Future Urban Space"
Aachen cooperation project "MACH MAL PLATZ" receives award in competition "Zukunft Stadtraum"
The cooperation project "MACH MAL PLATZ - Mehr Aufenthaltsqualität für den Talbotparkplatz in Aachen" wins 3.000,-€ prize money in the first stage of the state competition. On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, Minister Ina Scharrenbach ceremoniously presented the certificate in the Düsseldorf Ministry.
The Ministry for Regional Identity, Communities and Local Government, Building and Gender Equality of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia is looking for courageous and innovative concepts with the state competition " Zukunft Stadtraum ". The student initiative Uni.Urban.Mobil. e.V. submitted the entry in stage 1 of the state competition. Together with many other committed partners, the initiative is working for a change in mobility and a better quality of life in Aachen.
Other supporters were quickly found. Not only the AStA of RWTH Aachen University is actively on board, but also the Rector of RWTH Aachen University, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger, as well as Aachen's Mayor Sibylle Keupen and her city management team have already pledged their support with a "Letter of Intent".
The project is based on the idea of temporarily repurposing the Talbot parking lot - an approximately 6,000-square-meter inner-city area that has been used for decades purely as a parking lot - to create more urban greenery and new quality of stay.
The design for the temporary redesign of the Talbot parking lot was penned by RWTH architecture student Lars König and developed during the semester project "Mach Mal Platz" in summer 2020, which was initiated as a cooperative project for students of the Academy of Crafts and Design, Gut Rosenberg of the Aachen Chamber of Crafts and RWTH Aachen - Chair and Institute for Urban Design. The students were creatively supervised by the two lecturers Dipl. Des. Patricia Yasmine Graf (RWTH) and Lies-Marie Hoffmann M.A. (HWK).
Now it is a question of working out the draft together with all involved ones further and of submitting in stage 2 of the national competition.
Architecture student Lars König on his design:
The design consists mainly of four design elements: An outer perimeter zone, a blue rim, entrances to the square and a green center. The center of the new square will be kept free and will have a lawn as an additional low-threshold place to linger.
The new place is accessed through four entrances. The visitors enter the place through entrances like a festival hall. A central axis for pedestrians and cyclists runs along the adjacent Schinkelstraße, connecting Aachen West and the campus with the city center. A large symbolic red carpet creates the connection to this important axis.
The outer perimeter zone maintains the functionality of the adjacent buildings, it continues to provide a fire department bypass and barrier-free parking. The actual space is defined by the blue border. This closes the new, lively place spatially. A surveyable plaza area is created, which is planned according to the human scale. By moving away, the square also responds to the lack of design of the first floor zone of the adjacent development.
The blue rim will be designed with long panels and benches that create a high quality of stay; From these points, the square can be fully overlooked. During the temporary transformation, events or exhibitions will be held in the area between the free green center and the blue edge. The goal is to create a place that is not only accepted by students, but by all residents and visitors of the city of Aachen.
A cooperation project of:
- RWTH Aachen - Chair for Urban Design
- Academy The Academy of Crafts and Design , Gut Rosenberg of the Chamber of Crafts Aachen
- Uni.Urban.Mobil.
- Asta RWTH
- City of Aachen