WiSe 25/26 LEER:RETHINK

How can vacant buildings on public land in Kassel be used responsibly? The studio focuses on identifying vacancies and developing alternative concepts for their non-profit and ecological reuse.
The focus is on redesigning existing spaces and activating local actors to enable sustainable transformations in the interests of the common good.

The research seminar is taking place in combination with the vertical studio “Umbauen Umbauen Umbauen”. The seminar “Vacancy and Governance Design” will consist of reading on the economy of the production of vacancy and group conversations and design of the alternative governance structure. For the final grade, students need to hand in at least a four page text including graphics. 

The seminar explores colonial property regimes and their spatial legacies. We study how dispossession, displacement and land appropriation still shape ownership structures today – for example in Namibia, where much land remains in the hands of white settlers.
Through readings, discussions and guest lectures, we critically examine ownership and power relations, using cartographic methods to trace these colonial continuities and explore strategies to challenge them.

During the excursion week, we are planning a trip to Brussels, focusing on ‘ conversion and vacancy utilisation projects, as well as housing policy’.
There will be a particular focus on tranformation and vacancy activation. We will meet institutional and activist actors on site who will guide us through the city and draw our attention to conflicts and potentials – from the EU Parliament to small and large (re)construction sites, from the ideal type of the 1970s to current queer-feminist architecture.

The seminar deals with vacancy in Kassel, which our department has mapped over recent semesters – more than 220,000 m², enough space for about 2,400 apartments. We analyze the results of the mapping and connect them with theoretical concepts: What are the reasons for vacancy? Where is the vacancy located? How does the German tax system influence vacancy? What are the costs and rents for new construction compared to renovation of existing buildings?
Graphical representations are used to raise awareness of the complexity of the indicators and the social, political, and ethical contexts of vacancy. Students develop concepts, critically reflect on property issues and urban political economy, and discuss these in the seminar.

Students in their final semester before the Bachelor thesis can propose their own topics, directly linked to the thesis. The focus is on the preservation of existing buildings through transformation and remodeling.