As part of the campus expansion of the University of Kassel, the building of the old cloth weaving mill Gottschalk & Co was converted into a student house and reopened on 01.11.2019 after renovation work. In future, the General Student Council (AStA), the autonomous departments and student groups will have their rooms in the listed building. New and old architecture come together in the entrance area in particular. In order to emphasize the history of the building and create a link to the original use of the building, pieces of furniture were designed from lightweight concrete, which were produced with the help of fabric formwork. The concrete surface, which has a textile structure, is therefore an eye-catcher. The basic concept was based on the body structure of a tardigrade (also known as a tardigrade).

The entire design process, from brainstorming to completion, was carried out by students of architecture, civil engineering, nanostructure science and product design in workshops. The motto of the project was: by students for students. In this regard, two bachelor project groups in our department worked on optimizing the concrete and surface of the furniture. A lightweight concrete with a density of approx. 1.7 ^kg/dm3 was used with the additives limestone powder and expanded glass. The surface optimization included aesthetic aspects such as colouring and post-treatment methods.

The result can be viewed in the Studierendenhaus at Universitätsplatz 10 - 34127 Kassel.

We would like to thank the company Scholz Farbpigmente for sponsoring the pigments and the company Nüßingen for the surface coating agent.