DESIGN STUDIO

Instructor(s): Prof. Christiane Weber, René Heusler

Alongside the schoolhouse and church, House R is one of the buildings that characterise Untersteinbach. Despite all traffic planning efforts, it still stands in the centre of the small village, and only the preservation order prevented its demolition. However, for the long-term preservation (and maintenance) of the empty residential building from 1779, a suitable use is essential. This draft deals with the search for such a use and the planning of the necessary structural measures. As part of the seminar ‘Point cloud - and now what?’, the planning basis was developed in WS 24/25 using digital methods of inventory recording. 

Instructor(s): Prof. Christiane Weber, Reinhold Bauer (WGT)

Immediately after the end of World War II, MAN attempted to respond to the urgent housing shortage with its own steel house. These modular steel houses were linked to the hope of transferring the experience gained from Fordist automobile production to housing construction. Their modular construction made it possible to build different types from house to house. Today, several surviving examples of the MAN Stahlhaus (= steel house) have already been transferred to open-air museums. In the seminar, we will look at these monuments from the perspective of construction history and cultural history.

The seminar is organised in cooperation with the Department of the History of Technology of the Institute of History as part of the DFG SPP 2255 ‘Kulturerbe Konstruktion’. The results will form the basis for an exhibition and the mediation work planned for it. 

Instructor(s): Prof. Christiane Weber

In the seminar, students can independently pursue research projects of their own choice in the fields of architectural history, construction history or building research. Individually supervised, scientific methods and presentation media are tested and discussed in joint colloquia.

The seminar supports independent academic work in preparation for academic papers, the Master's thesis or dissertation.

Instructor(s): Dr. Dietlinde Schmitt-Vollmer

In this seminar we will look at monasteries - sophisticated architectural typologies that enable a retreat from society into independent spiritual communities. How are monasteries structured, what kind of functions do they fulfill and what tasks did they have in the past?

‘Ora et labora’ - pray and work - summarises the monastic way of life. Accordingly, the typical spatial programme of a monastery includes elements such as a church, cloister, workrooms, stables, hospital, dining rooms and dormitories, etc. Monastery architecture combines spirituality with functional processes, reflects asceticism, but also representation and the expression of independence or political power.
Who were the patrons of monastery foundations? What interests did they pursue with the monasteries, their monumental building sites, unique aesthetic concepts, regulations and construction methods?

In the seminar, we will first look at the various religious orders and the monastery architecture of the Middle Ages and the Baroque period. Building on this, we will also analyse more recent examples, such as the Sainte-Marie de La Tourette monastery by Le Corbusier, and look at conversion concepts in the course of secularisation and today. Full-day excursions to monasteries in the region and a half-day excursion are planned to explore the topic in greater depth.

['Gott sei Dank' translates to 'Thank God']

Instructor(s): Dr. Dietlinde Schmitt-Vollmer

The examination of ornament is inextricably linked to questions about the expressiveness, beauty and comprehensibility of architecture. Since the publication of Adolf Loos' Ornament and Crime in 1910 and the concurrent dictate of taste by the Deutscher Werkbund, ornament, embellishment and decoration were largely denied the right to exist. In architecture, this led to a broad shift towards formal reduction and material honesty.

But what is the difference between ornament, decoration and pattern? Can't material also have a lavish, sensual or ornamental effect? Do decorative or ornamental constructions exist? To what extent can ornamental elements break through architectural concepts? What influence do performative design methods, such as Peter Eisenman's, or parametric design have on formal designs? Are we experiencing a revival of the ornament?

We want to address these and other questions in the summer semester. We will take a historical approach to the topic by analysing buildings, architects and relevant texts. 

Instructor(s): Prof. Christiane Weber, Maria Saum, Volker Schwieger

The building turnaround challenges us to stop constructing new buildings and instead to utilise the potential of existing buildings. This presents architects with major challenges: How can we assess what a historic building can still achieve? What information do I need? Where can I find it? How do I organise the planning material? How do I recognise damage and what renovation measures are appropriate? In the seminar, we will try out methods of contemporary as-built recording, laser scanning and 3D measurements from hand sketches to point clouds and apply them to a historical building as part of a workshop lasting several days. Excursions and guest lectures will provide an insight and overview of the current state of the art technology available to us today for recording existing buildings. The seminar is organised in cooperation with the Institute of Engineering Geodesy.