Summer semester 24 Beyond Speculation

The original design of the Elbtower building in Hamburg was advertised as particularly sustainable due to the choice of its technologies. However, the insolvency of the developer Signa at the end of 2023 brought the construction of the unfinished tower, which was to become Hamburg's tallest landmark, to a standstill. The city was left with a huge concrete shell that now towers over the harbor. The costs of securing the construction site of the empty shell have to be borne by the public. This semester, we are therefore asking: Can there be "sustainable" design and construction in a non-sustainable system? Can we imagine other rules for the development of this building? Can we redesign these huge landmarks so that they do not stand for investor dreams and power, but for added value for urban society and cohesion? This semester is all about the redesign of the Elbtower. We are starting with the awareness that building in times of man-made climate change not only means using sustainable technologies, but also questioning the power and domination relationships that architecture like the Elbtower is supposed to radiate. The building is to be redesigned in such a way that the space is distributed, used and managed with a view to equality and collaboration.

The research studio takes place in conjunction with our design studio 'RUINS OF SPECULATION - Redesigning the vacant Elb-Tower'. In the research studio, we will analyze the real estate giant SIGNA in order to understand the insolvency in all its stages and the outdated building industry premises on which it is based. At the same time, we are deepening our knowledge of forms of ownership structures oriented towards the common good. Using the example of the vacant Elbtower, which is also a topic in the design studio, we then want to find public welfare-oriented alternatives for the operation of the tower. Using mappings, diagrams and systemic drawings, we will work on finding answers to questions such as: How can the tower come into collective ownership? How should the takeover be financed? What legal system is necessary?

This in-depth seminar focuses on the connection between housing and the economy: housing widens the gap between the wealthy and people in financial need. Existing home ownership conditions are largely associated with the decline in state investment in social housing and the increase in public subsidies for owner-occupied homes in recent decades - for people without assets, housing is hardly affordable anymore. Conversely, housing has an influence on the wealth of those who live in it; housing (re)produces the gender and racial wealth gap. While the wealth gap has so far primarily been addressed in the discourse of poverty and wealth research, we would like to follow up with the perspective of critical housing research - because when it comes to wealth, it is about real estate ownership. At the level of housing research, we are planning the architectural analysis and presentation of various housing typologies, the financial conditions of their residents, usage patterns as well as support and financing structures.

In the seminar "Caring and Sharing of University Space", students deal with the socio-ecological building turnaround, space-sharing concepts, pedagogical space concepts, resource awareness and (spatial) sufficiency including space cushions in the form of a real laboratory in three planned focus blocks based on their own scarce working space situation. The seminar is primarily aimed at students of Faculty 06, where new concepts for the use of space are currently needed. However, the seminar is open to students from all other departments due to the transdisciplinary approach to sufficient use of space, energy efficiency measures and participation opportunities. The results should be transferable (e.g. in the form of a manual) to space utilization issues at the entire university.

The course "Fundamentals of Public Building Law" is part of two modules. On the one hand, it is one of two sub-modules of the module "Bauwirtschaft und Baudurchführung / Grundlagen des öffentlichen Baurechts" (compulsory module for Bachelor's students of architecture). On the other hand, it is one of two parts of the module "Basic knowledge of building, planning and environmental law" (compulsory module for students of landscape architecture and landscape planning as well as urban and regional planning in the Bachelor's program). The second part of the module "Basic knowledge of building, planning and environmental law" is the course "Fundamentals of regional planning, sectoral planning and environmental law" (only for S and L). For more detailed information on the content of this course, see there.

The seminar deals with community housing projects, cooperatives and other community-oriented legal forms (tenant syndicates), housing and property rights, profitability calculations and financing instruments.

This summer semester we organize a study trip to the city of Belgrade. Belgrade is particularly interesting for its geographical, but also a geopolitical position.
The study trip is closely connected to our Studio themed “Ruins of speculation” where we will examine how neoliberal developments can be repurposed and designed as a common.
We will hear from activists and architects about the history and urban conflicts in the city, but also how to organize and create spaces of commons. During the study trip we will visit new neoliberal development Belgrade Waterfront that is the site of the biggest urban conflict, but also learn about the lived and built experience of the socialist city and the way the activists organize today.